Hot and Cold
by funniebanana
Summary: Okay, this is my version of MR4. The FAXNESS IS HERE! Includes: fight scenes, new powers, OCs, NIGGYNESS, and FAXNESS! Please read it. NO FLAMES! Rating might change to T later. Or it might not. I've got no idea. I'm finally back, with chapter 19!
1. Fire

**A/N- Okay, this is my new story. I hope you like it. This is my version of MR4. Takes place right after MR3.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Maximum Ride (As much as I wish I did)**

**Claimer- I do own Fang's new power. (hint hint)**

I glared at Fang over the fire. The kids and Iggy were sitting on a fallen tree log in the forest where we had camped out for the night. We had left Mom's (Dr. Martinez's) house earlier today, and now we were somewhere in Nevada.

We were fighting again, but I couldn't even remember what we were fighting about anymore. All I knew was that we were fighting, and I was miserable.

I hated it when we fought, and it was even worse now that we had just gotten back together.

Fang said something, and I blinked and paid attention. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

He rolled his eyes and repeated it. "I said, you're just a shallow, self-obsessed, self-important little freak!"

I gasped. That really stung. "What?! I'm shallow!? You're the one who-"

"Guys, STOP IT!!!!!"

To tell the truth, I had completely forgotten that the rest of the flock was there, but now I really didn't care. Fang had an ego problem, and I was gonna fix it for him.

Too bad Iggy was still talking. "Can't you two get it through your thick skulls that we HATE it when you fight? We just all got back together, and already you're splitting us back up! I'll bet you don't even know what you started fighting about, anyway!"

Well, that was true, but it didn't mean we should stop fighting. I looked at the kids. Gazzy and Nudge were playing tic-tac-toe in the dirt, and Angel had covered her ears and closed her eyes. Total was sitting quietly on her lap. They didn't look very happy.

"Stay out of, Ig." Fang said, and turned back to me. "What did I do?" He inquired coldly.

"You're the one who's all like 'Oh, look at me! I'm Fang, and I have a super cool blog that's gonna save the world! I don't need anyone else's help!'" I spat.

He looked at me, and though his face didn't show any emotion, I could see how his eyes barely tightened. He was really mad. "I don't think that the blog's gonna save the world! I think that it will help you, no not just you, _us_ save the world!"

"Oh, and how will it do that? Telling untrained little kids that they need to throw rocks through windows?!"

Fang was taking deep breaths, like he was trying not to explode. I kept going.

"I mean, sure, they saved Nudge, Angel, and me from Itex, but what else can they _really_ do?"

Suddenly Angel sat up. "Max, MOVE!"

I looked at her. "What?"

Then Fang made a choking noise. I spun back around to look at him.

His mouth was shut tight, like he was afraid that he might puke. He was motioning wildly with his hands, and too late I realized what he meant.

Get out of the way.

Fire erupted out of his mouth, and sped right at me. I dove out of the way, but my right arm got hit by the fireball. I screamed and clutched my arm. I dimly heard everyone shouting questions, but I ignored them.

I lay crouched on the ground, holding my burnt arm to my chest. I heard someone's crunching footsteps as they ran towards me, but I didn't really pay attention. Then I heard him crouch next to me.

"Max, Max, oh God, MAX! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Can you guess who it was? That's right. Fang. He put one hand on my shoulder and the other under my chin, trying to get me to look him in the eyes.

I pushed him away from me with my good arm. "Get away from me!" I screamed. I snapped out my wings, not caring of I hit him or not. I jumped up and was hovering two feet in the air, about to do an up and away, when he grabbed my arm. "Let go!"

"No!" He said fiercely, tightening his grip. "You're not leaving until you've heard me out! Max, I'm so sorry!"

I looked down into his eyes and saw how sorry he was. I almost forgave him, and then my burnt arm twanged, sending a wave of pain through me. "No." I snarled, trying to pull my arm out of his grasp. "Let go!" He started pulling me back down, when Iggy smashed into him.

"Dude, didn't you hear her? She doesn't want to listen to you!" Iggy snarled, blocking a punch Fang threw at him. How he knew it was there, I'll never know.

I realized that Fang wasn't grabbing me anymore, and I flapped my wings hard, gaining altitude quickly. As I flew away, I heard Fang call after me.

"Max! I'm so sorry!" I could hear the sorrow in his voice for hurting me, and the hurt that I didn't stay to listen to him.

I ignored him, and flew away.

**A/N- I hope you liked it. I'll try to update again today, but only if someone reviews and asks me to keep writing. I don't know if anyone else likes it, so I'll need at least one review. Thnks!!!**

**No flames.**


	2. Fun

**A/N- Thanks to everyone who reviewed! This chapter is kind of like a third person point of view. I really hope it doesn't get too confusing.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Maximum Ride.**

Since Iggy and Fang were still fighting as Max flew away, Angel took charge. She turned to Gazzy.

"Okay, Gazzy, you stay with Iggy and help him keep Fang here. Nudge and I'll go talk to Max."

Gazzy nodded, and Angel and Nudge took off into the sky. As they followed Max, Nudge talked. A lot. Angel figured that she did it to keep her nerves down.

"Okay, so, Angel, what just happened? I know Max and Fang were, like, fighting, but how did Fang do the fire breathing thing? Is that a new power? Do you think that it's new, or maybe he's been, like, hiding it from us! That's probably it. Fang hides a lot of stuff. But why did he burn Max? Usually Fang would never do anything to hurt Max! Oh, maybe it's a Fang clone! Remember when we were in Germany and we saw _clones_ of everyone?"

Nudge stopped to breath, and Angel spoke up.

"I don't know, Nudge. But we need to find Max and make sure she's okay."

Nudge nodded, and carefully scanned the ground.

_Back at camp…_

* * *

Gazzy carefully watched Fang and Iggy, making sure that they didn't get too hurt. He would go and break them up himself, but they were both like, three feet taller than him.

So he and Total just sat and watched. Finally, Iggy and Fang sat down on separate sides of the camp. Iggy had a bloody nose, and Fang had a black eye and a split lip.

Iggy carefully made his way over to Gazzy. As he sat down next to him, his sightless eyes darted back and forth. Gazzy knew that as a sign that Iggy was upset about something. So, as best friend, it was his job to find out what.

"Hey Iggy." Gazzy said. "What's up?"

Iggy grunted. "I just wish that I could see what happened." There was silence for a second, and then he spoke again. "What _did_ happen?"

Gazzy thought for a second, and then he spoke again. "Well, they were fighting and you told them to lay off. So Fang told you to stay out of it. Then Max was yelling at Fang, and Fang looked like he was holding his breath. Then Angel jumped up-"

"And knocked me off her lap." Total muttered sulkily.

Gazzy waved him off. "Shut up, Total. So, Angel jumped up and started screaming at Max to move. Then Fang started, like, choking, and motioning at Max to get out of the way. Then fire exploded out of his mouth and she dove out of the way, but it hit her arm. I think you know the rest."

Neither of them noticed that Fang was listening closely, or that he was glaring at Iggy's back.

Iggy nodded. "I just hope she's okay."

_Back to Angel and Nudge…_

* * *

After a couple minutes of careful looking, Angel and Nudge saw Max at a river bank. She was splashing cold water onto her burnt arm, and her shoulders were shaking. They dove down to her and approached carefully.

"Max?" Angel called out quietly. "Max? Are you okay?"

Max jumped up and spun around, but when she saw who it was she turned back to the water. "Yeah."

Nudge crouched down next to Max and gently grabbed her arm. She looked at it carefully, and splashed some more water on it. She sent Angel a mental image, and a message. _Is she really okay?_

Angel nodded. _Yeah. It doesn't seem to hurt her too much._

Then Angel's head snapped up, and she looked at Max piercingly. "No, Max. He didn't know. He couldn't control it. He just got really mad. He didn't mean to."

Max shrugged and stood up. "If you say so." She looked around for a second, then looked Nudge in the eye. "What happened after I left?"

Nudge realized that Max had been crying. "Uhhh… Iggy and Fang were beating each other up when we left. Gazzy's making sure they don't seriously injure themselves, and Total's… doing his own thing, I guess."

Max looked up at the sky. "It's dark. We should head back." She motioned to Nudge and Angel to take off, and she followed them into the air.

For the first few minutes there was total silence. After a bit Nudge couldn't stand it anymore and started talking.

"Hey, Max? Remember when we used to pretend we were those fancy planes that do tricks, back when we first learned to fly?" Max nodded slowly, not sure where Nudge was going. "Well, why don't we play that?"

Angel immediately started begging Max if they could play and Max smiled. "Okay, I guess so."

Angel and Nudge cheered, and they all started doing fancy flips and rolls through the air.

By the time they got back to camp they were all laughing loudly. Max realized that she hadn't had so much fun for a while. She realized that it felt pretty good. _Maybe I should do this more often._

**A/N- there's chapter 2. I'll probably get ch. 3 up tomorrow. I'm really tired. Tell me what you think. I'll just go for 1-2 reviews. THANKS!!!!!**


	3. More Than friends

**A/N- Thanks for reviewing! I'm sorry that Max hates Fang, but she'll get over it. Maybe. I might put some Niggyness in here, but I'm not sure. Tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer- Do you really think JP is a girl? Cause I don't.**

Gazzy and Iggy looked up from their bomb plans when they heard Angel and Nudge laughing.

"Okay, who else is laughing?" Gazzy asked Iggy. "I hear Nudge and Angel, but there's another voice too. Who is it?"

Iggy looked thunderstruck. "I… I think it's Max!"

"Whoa, dude! Max is laughing! Like, really laughing!"

"I guess that means she's okay." Iggy glared at the area around Fang, who was staring at the sky, waiting for the girls (Max) to come into view.

**(A/N- Back to Max's point of view)**

As we landed in the clearing I was a little nervous. Nudge had said that Iggy and Fang had been fighting when they left, so I hoped neither of them were too hurt. I needed to thank Iggy, anyway. He's the one who got Fang off of me.

But I was still laughing, so I wasn't too worried. We landed and I pulled my wings in.

Angel was talking to Total, and Nudge was talking to Iggy. I looked around and saw Fang coming towards me. I looked around wildly for something to do so I could say I was busy. Then I wouldn't have to talk to him.

But there was nothing around me to occupy my attention, so I prayed that someone else noticed and would come to my rescue. I would probably forgive Fang eventually, but right now I _really_ didn't want to talk to him.

My prayers were answered. Gazzy saw Fang coming towards me, and he told Iggy. Just as Iggy started coming towards me, Fang called my name.

"Max! I'm so sorry!" He was getting closer.

"Fang, leave me alone." I turned away. Iggy was hurrying towards the sound of my voice, but he still wasn't close enough to get me out of this awkward position.

Fang grabbed my arm and spun me around so I was facing him. "Max, just hear me out. Please. Please just listen." His eyes were actually showing emotion, and I could hear how sorry he was in his voice.

But that didn't change my mind. Sure, I was melting on the inside, but…oh, who am I kidding. I wanted to forgive Fang so badly, it hurt. He could get anything from me when he looked at me like that, and my resolve was quickly crumbling. But he shouldn't get off that easily. I shouldn't let him. Just as I opened my mouth to forgive him, against my better judgment, Iggy came to the rescue.

He put his arm around my shoulders and led me away. We went to where Nudge was sitting, and I sat on one side of her. Iggy sat on the other side. I stared at the ground for a little bit, then looked at Iggy.

"Thanks, Iggy." When he looked surprised and confused I clarified my thanks. "You know, for letting me go. I just needed some…" What was the word?

"Alone time?" Nudge finished.

"Yeah. Thanks, Nudge." I looked around for a bit, then tapped Iggy's hand. "I'm going to sleep. Iggy, Nudge, could you make sure everyone gets to sleep before midnight? I'll take third watch."

I got up and laid down a little ways away from the log that Iggy and Nudge were sitting on. I turned so no one could see my face and silently cried myself to sleep.

* * *

Iggy and Nudge sat on the log and waited until Max, Gazzy, Angel, and Total were asleep. Iggy had Nudge tell Fang that he had first watch, and Iggy would take second. Then Iggy and Nudge went a little ways into the woods to talk.

They flew up into a tree and sat side by side. Nudge stared at the stars for a while, then she broke the silence.

"Uhh… Iggy?"

"Yeah?" Iggy had been listening to the Nudge's quiet breathing. He didn't know why that made him feel so…calm, but he always listened to her breathing when he knew she wouldn't notice.

"Do you… you're gonna laugh at me, I know it."

Iggy could hear the sadness in her voice, and he knew she was serious. He would do anything to make her feel… not sad. "No. I won't laugh, Nudge. I promise."

"Okay… uh, d-do y-y-yo-you li- like… Max?" Nudge had to practically choke out the last part.

"What? Nudge, I can't understand a word you're saying. Speak clearly."

"Do you like Max?" Nudge covered her mouth, waiting for a reply.

Iggy had a confused look on his face. "D'you mean…?"

"Like, do you like _like_ Max? Like, as a girlfriend?"

Iggy could hear Nudge biting her nails, and he pulled her hand away from her mouth. He almost laughed out loud. But he did promise he wouldn't. "Nudge, I don't like Max. Well, I do, but as a sister."

Nudge was really happy, but then she remembered that Iggy could be lying. "But you were like, dragging Fang off of her earlier. That's kind of like something a boyfriend would do. Then you started fighting with Fang. You guys practically never fight. Except when Gazzy says something in Fang's voice or something. It looked kind of like you were fighting over a girl. Over Max."

"Nudge, I pulled Fang off of Max because that's something a _brother_ might do. Max really needed to get away for a minute, but Fang wouldn't let her go. And Fang attacked me. I was just defending myself, and keeping him busy so Max could be alone for a while. I _know_ Fang likes Max. When we were… split up, he was always talking about her, or thinking about her. I think. That's what Gazzy said. I don't like Max. I like y- someon- no one. I don't like anybody. Well, I do, but as… never mind."

Nudge was really happy now. She knew Iggy wouldn't lie to her. He had really sounded honest. And he was blushing, which meant he _did_ like someone else. "Iggy, were you about to say that you liked-"

Iggy cut her off. "Let's go back to camp. It's late." He jumped down to the ground and started walking quickly towards camp. Nudge hopped down and followed him.

"Iggy, were you about to say that you liked _me_?" She grabbed his skinny arm and dug her heels into the ground.

Iggy tried to pull away, but she was too strong. And stubborn. That was one thing he liked about her. He couldn't get away, so he answered. Truthfully. "Yeah." He said so quietly that Nudge almost didn't hear him. Then he kissed her cheek and she let go of him in surprise.

Then he slipped quietly through the trees and disappeared.

He lay down between where Max was sleeping and where Fang was sitting. A few minutes later Nudge entered the clearing and lay down next to him.

Then she spoke. "Hey Ig?"

He hoped with all his might that she would say what he wanted to hear. "Yeah?"

His voice shook a little bit, and Nudge could tell he was nervous. "I like you too." She whispered, and turned onto her side so she was facing away from him.

They both smiled into the dark.

**A/N- What do you think? I like it a lot, personally. Please review, and tell me what you think. I guess I'll go for two reviews for the next chapter. Keep reading! Thanks!**


	4. Friends Again

**A/N- Okay, thanks to everyone who reviewed! This **_**might**_** be a big chapter. I'm not actually sure. Okay, here's ch. 4**

Fang watched as Iggy and Nudge disappeared into the forest. Once they were gone he focused on Max. She had stopped crying and was asleep, but she was tossing and turning. He wanted to go over there so badly and wake her up, see her beautiful big brown eyes open, and hear her say everything's fine, now go back to sleep.

But he couldn't. He wouldn't be surprised if she hated him for what he had done. He would hate him, too. But he still had to try to get her to forgive him.

So he thought up a plan.

* * *

About fifteen minutes after they left Iggy came back, and Nudge followed him shortly. They both lay down between him and Max, and whispered a little bit. Then they fell asleep.

Fang waited until his watch was almost done, then he woke Iggy up. Iggy woke with a start, then relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Your watch, Iggy." Fang whispered.

Iggy stood up and listened to Nudge's calm breathing for a second, then he walked over to the log and sat down. Fang sat down next to him and they both took in the sight and sound of the girls of their dreams for a few quiet seconds.

Then Fang broke it silence. "Ig, I'm… sorry. About earlier."

Iggy grinned. "Yeah. I thought you would be. I know you just wanted to talk to Max, but she needed to be alone for a little bit. Tackling you seemed like the best idea at the time."

Fang chuckled quietly. "Sure. Just don't do it again. My eye still hurts from that punch."

Iggy pretended to be indignant. "Your eye? What about my nose?!"

They both laughed, then Fang grew serious. "So, I've got a plan to talk to Max and get her to listen to me. Wanna help?"

Iggy frowned. "Is she gonna get really mad?"

Fang nodded. "Oh yeah."

Iggy grinned. "Then I'm in."

* * *

Fang went to hide in the forest. Once Iggy was sure he was gone, he silently stepped forward and picked Max up so he was holding her bridal-style. Max woke up right away, and looked around blearily as Iggy rose into the air.

He flew towards the meeting spot and stopped, putting on a show of listening carefully for any movement. When he didn't hear any he put Max down and landed beside her.

Max looked at him warily. "Iggy? What's going on?"

"Max, they…they…they took Gazzy!"

Max snapped up. "What?! Who was on watch?"

"No one! That's the problem! Fang's gone too!" Iggy was barely controlling his laughter at Max's expression.

"What! They got Fang too!" Then horror dawned on her face. "OH MY GOD! IGGY! THERE'S SOMETHING BEHIND YOU!!!!!!"

Iggy spun around and Max put a well-placed kick on his butt. Iggy fell to the ground and sprang back up, spinning on Max.

"What was that for?!"

Max had a smug grin on her face. "For lying. You're a horrible actor. Go back to camp. It's your watch. I've gotta talk to Fang." She raised her voice. "Cause I _know_ he's out here!"

Iggy walked back to camp and sat down on the log again. He was a little put out by the whole "You're a bad actor" thing.

**

* * *

**

I stood in the middle of the clearing Iggy had brought me to, waiting for Fang.

Eventually he slipped out of the surrounding forest, like a shadow come to life. He stood in front of me and stared at me, and I stared back. Eventually my eyes started to water, and I blinked.

Fang allowed himself a quick grin, before looking at me again.

"Max, please just listen."

I pretended to think for a second, then shrugged. "Since you said please."

Fang grinned again, and started to talk. "Max, I really am so sorry. I really didn't mean to…explode, I just did. I was mad that you were hurt. No, I was mad at myself for hurting you. I didn't want you to get hurt, so I just kind of…imploded. I'm really sorry. And I won't ever use it again. I promise. Not when you or someone I love could get hurt."** (A/N- He means emotionally, not physically. Just to make sure no one was confused, cause I was when I reread this chapter.)**

He stood there, waiting with bated breath for my answer. I sighed. I couldn't stay mad at him, especially when he looked like a scolded six-year-old.

"Okay, Fang. I forgive you."

His face lit up, and I couldn't help but smile.

"To tell the truth, I wanted to forgive you the whole time."

Fang scrunched his eyebrows together. "Then why didn't you?"

I smiled. "I wanted to make you suffer."

Fang glared at me. Then, without warning, he tackled me to the ground. He had a devilish smile on his face, and I immediately realized what he was going to do.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You wouldn't dare."

He smiled. Well, as much as Fang does smile, which isn't very much. "Says who?"

Then he mercilessly started tickling my ribs. I laughed and rolled around, trying to get him off me. All my struggling didn't really do anything, because he was bigger, and stronger, and weighed more than me.

"Fang! Fang, stop!" I forced out between laughs. "I- ha ha ha, stop! I can't breath!"

After five minutes of pure torture Fang finally stopped. I sat up and gasped for breath, struggling to stop laughing.

Fang was laughing too, and we both stared at the stars for a few more minutes.

"Hey Fang?"

"Yeah?"

"Earlier, when you said you wouldn't use your power again when me, or someone you love, could get hurt, did you mean you didn't love me?"

"What?! No, Max I love you, but in a dif- too. Like a sister. Geez, of course I love you! You're smart, and funny, and strong, and beau-" He stopped, like he realized he had said too much and ran a hand through his hair,

I was about to say something, when I looked at Fang's watch and sat straight up.

"Fang, we need to go. It's almost 4:00! We've been out here for two hours!"

"Really? We should head back, then." Okay, either I was delirious, or Fang was sad that we had to leave. Something was up with him.

We got up and walked silently through the woods until we saw the glow of the campfire. Fang and I stood on the outskirts of the clearing, at a loss for words.

"Well, see you in the morning." I said.

Fang nodded absentmindedly and went to lie down.

I took over watch from Iggy and watched Fang stare up at the stars. What was he thinking about?

**A/N- Well, I hope you liked it. There's gonna be a bit more FAXNESS later on, but for right now that's about it. Do you think that Fang was a little OOC? Tel me if you did, because I can't really tell. One review'll do. Thanks!!**

**Funniebanana**


	5. Fright

**A/N- Thanks for reviewing! Wow, I've got at least 25 reviews!!! THANKS! I didn't actually think I'd get past 10, so thanks. A lot. Okay, I know you just want to read the chapter, so I'll stop talking. Writing. For a little bit. I just have writer's block. I'll think of something.**

**Disclaimer- Do you really think I own it? If you do, you should probably go check yourself into a mental institute or something.**

**Claimer- I do own the plot, and Fang's discovery of his new power. But I don't own fire breathing.**

Okay, 7 AM. Time to wake up the Flock. Since yesterday was a bad day, I'd start the day off with a little fun.

For me, that is.

I filled all the water bottles, buckets, and anything that could hold water without breaking with water from the river **(A/N- See ch. 2) **and dragged it all back to camp. Uncapping all the bottles I threw their contents, one by one, on the innocently sleeping Flock. Angel, Gazzy, and Total each got a one-liter water bottle thrown on them, Iggy and Nudge (who were sleeping _really_ close to each other for some reason) each got a two-liter, and Fang, lucky Fang, got three two-liter water bottles full of ice-cold water from a river thrown on him.

Needless to say, they all woke up kicking and screaming.

Angel and Total jumped ten feet in the air and crashed to the ground. Gazzy woke up with a yell, then sadly pulled apart what used to be plans for a new bomb. Iggy pulled drenched, soggy clothes away from his skin, and Nudge screamed loudly until Iggy gently told her to shut up so he could think. Fang was the best, though. He jumped up and slipped on the water bottle that I had 'accidentally' left right under his feet. So he went crashing back down, with some words that will _not_ be mentioned here.

I started to restart the fire and called out cheerily. "Rise and shine, guys! Daylight's burning!"

The flock turned to me with scowls on every single face, even Total's. Don't ask me how a dog can scowl, cause I don't know.

I ignored their frowning faces and pulled out some Powerbars and Poptarts for breakfast. I looked up at them and frowned. "Why are you guy all wet? Come and dry by the fire before you get pneumonia or something."

_

* * *

_

After a lot of complaining, groaning, pleading, and begging, we finally got in the air and all the complaints were forgotten. Flying can do that to you. You should try it sometime…oh, right. You can't!

So, as we swooped and soared through the sky I thought about our biggest upcoming problem.

Then Fang swooped over and asked the question that I was trying to solve. "Hey, Max? Where are we going?"

"That is a very good question, Fang." I said. "And you want to know _why_ that's a great question, don't you?" I didn't wait for an answer. "Of course you do. In fact, you want to know why your question is a great question so badly that you don't even want to know the answer to said question. So, I'll make you happy and I won't give an answer, I'll just tell you why you have a great question."

Fang interrupted me. "You have no idea, do you? You're just stalling."

"No, I am not stalling. I'll even give you 1000 on-the-spot reasons why I'm not stalling."

Fang grinned. "Stalling."

"No."

"Staller."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

"Yes."

Fang smiled, and my world lit up. "Oh, so you are stalling?"

"What?! No! You tricked me!"

"How could I make you say something that wasn't true?" Fang asked innocently.

I scowled at him, and an expressionless mask looked back innocently.

Just then, Nudge screamed from behind us.

**A/N- HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Evil cliffie. One review, I know this chapter sucks. Just, please review. It'll get better soon. There gonna go somewhere, I just don't know where yet. Anyone got any ideas? If you do, thanks! If you don't, just keep reading.**


	6. Fight

**A/N- BIG thanks to everyone who reviewed! I still don't know where the Flock should go, so if you have an idea PLEASE TELL ME!!!!! Okay, on to the story! Wait, reread ch. 4 before reading this chapter. I re-did it, so there's some more Faxness. You don't have to, but it's kind of a really good idea.**

**Disclaimer- I think you get the picture by now.**

We spun around and froze. A huge cloud of Flyboys were coming towards us, and we were way outnumbered.

"Max?" Fang's voice was normal, but I could see how his fists were clenched and his jaw was tight. "Options?"

Okay, okay, think. "Fight." I said in a "duh" voice. "Iggy, Gazzy, go up on top and drop any bombs you have. Nudge, Angel, you two gang up on one at a time. Take 'em down slowly, and don't take too many on at once. Iggy, Gazzy, once you're out of bombs help Nudge and Angel."

Total was in the carrier thing Mom gave us, (cough baby carrier cough)on Iggy's back. "What about me?!" He called indignantly.

I rolled my eyes. "Just, be Iggy's eyes or something."

Total nodded solemnly and everyone flew off to their assigned positions.

I looked at Fang and, sensing my gaze, he looked at me. "You ready?"

He laughed humorlessly. "As ready as I'll ever be."

And then, all of a sudden, the Flyboys were on us.

A Flyboy flew up to me and I punched his nose/snout thing in. He fell to the ground, and another one quickly replaced him. He threw a punch that hit my stomach so hard it took my breath away. I flew upwards, but not fast enough, seeing as he punched my thigh. _Pain is merely a message_. I spun around and with a roundhouse kick and got his head, right at the back. He fell too, and I took a quick second to see how everyone else was doing.

Iggy and Gazzy still had a couple of bombs left, and were taking out about five Flyboys with each bomb. Nudge and Angel had taken out one, and were starting to attack another. Fang had three ganging up on him, but he was doing fine.

Then I dragged my attention back to the fight and saw a Flyboy coming straight at me. I flew up and came down right behind him, and kicked him at the base of his spine for all I was worth, which, according to Jeb, was a couple million dollars. His legs crumpled, and I remembered the fight in Lendeheim. Then his glowing red eyes went blank and he fell.

"Angel! Nudge!" I called urgently, and they looked at me. I kicked another Flyboy at the base of his spine, and he fell too. They nodded, telling me that they understood. "Tell I and G!" I added, and they flitted off through the fight to tell Iggy and Gazzy.

While I, meanwhile, went to find Fang.

When I finally found him he was fighting four Flyboys at once. I swooped in and kicked one, then moved in so Fang and I were back-to-back.

"Fang, kick them at the base of their spine." I whispered. "It's a design flaw, and they crumple." Fang nodded, and I went to find more prey… I mean, Flyboys to kill. Though, they are my prey, cause I am 2 bird.

* * *

Anyway, eventually there were no more left. We were all exhausted, and extremely thankful that there weren't any more.

We were just about to fly down and rest for a bit when I saw another cloud coming.

I pointed it out to Fang, who groaned. "_Please_ tell me that's a rain cloud."

Everyone else spun around to see what we were talking about and gasped. Well, except for Iggy.

"What? Guys, come on, I can't see! What is it?" He didn't sound too happy.

Gazzy told him and Iggy whistled. "Holy-"

"Iggy!" I cut him off.

I squinted and saw that there were only about twenty. But we were all bone tired, and hungry. Gazzy and Angel looked like they were about to fall out of the sky.

So I made a snap decision. "Gazzy, Angel, take Total and head down to find a campsite. Make a fire, and we'll find you. If we're not there in… two hours, head to Mom's house. Got it?"

They nodded and swooped down, with Gazzy carrying Total.

"Okay guys." I said to my remaining flock. "There's about twenty, so if each of us takes out five we should be good. Iggy, you and Fang stick together, and I'll stick with Nudge. If anything happens, we retreat. Got it?"

They all nodded, and my heart swelled.

We fanned out and faced the coming swarm of Flyboys. But there were only two.

Fang looked at me as if to say "Where the &$# did the other eighteen go?!"

I just shrugged. "Uhh, okay, there's only two. I could have sworn…whatever. Iggy, Fang, go take care of them, and Nudge and I'll look out for any more."

The boys nodded and flew forward to fight the two remaining Flyboys. The minute they started fighting a furry hand wrapped itself around my waist. Before I could scream another hand clamped my mouth shut. My eyes darted over to Nudge, who was going through the same experience.

Then I looked at the boys to see if they had noticed anything, but they were busy fighting the two Flyboys.

I looked a Nudge to see how many Flyboys were restraining her. There was one with his hand on her mouth and his other hand holding her long, unruly hair, one with both hands around her waist, and one clamping her arms to her side.

So, if I was in the same position that was six Flyboys total. Wait, there was one holding my legs together, too. So that was eight, plus the two that Fang and Iggy were fighting makes ten.

There was nothing I could do, so Nudge and I had to wait until Fang and Iggy noticed.

After what felt like forever they dispatched the Flyboys and turned to us. Fang froze and Iggy flew into his back.

I heard Iggy whisper "What's going on?"

Fang paused for a second then answered. "Nudge and Max have both been…restrained by the Flyboys Max thought she saw earlier. There's eight holding them, and two hovering behind them."

Oh. I hadn't noticed the two behind us. Whatever. We could take them.

Then I heard the scariest noise in the world.

I heard…

**A/N-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I know you really want to kill me now. That was probably the worst cliffy EVER!!!!**

**So, what did you think of my first action scene? I liked it, but I want to know what you think. I'll definitely update tomorrow, after practice. THAT JUST HAPPENS TO START AT 6:30 IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!! So I have to go to sleep, otherwise I'll be a zombie in the morning. Review, please!!!**


	7. Fear

**A/N- Hola! I'm really happy to say that I am still alive after that last chapter. This one'll be good, probably. Lots of Faxness and Niggyness. So big thanks to everyone who reviewed. Last time I checked I had 9 reviews for the last cahpeter. THANKS!!!**

**Solo1234- You're a really good guesser. You were REALLY REALLY CLOSE!!!**

**Fangofdarkness- I kind of have a plan for Gazzy, but if that doesn't work out I'll probably use your idea. It's really good!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own it!!!!**

_-Previously on Hot and Cold-_

Then I heard the scariest noise in the world.

I heard…

* * *

The click of a gun as someone cocked it.

I heard the Flyboys behind Nudge cock another gun, and Iggy stiffened at the noise. Fang was watching us carefully, and I could tell he was planning something.

I started flapping my wings, because we were still eight thousand feet above the ground and I wasn't used to not supporting myself in the air. Then I realized that I could knock the Flyboys behind me away, and free myself. I threw my wings behind me, but before I could knock any Flyboys away a Flyboy grabbed one of my wings. Another Flyboy grabbed my other wing, and they stretched them out.

That really hurt, and I screamed against the hand on my mouth.

Fang looked like he was about to go ballistic. He was flying back and forth, and his face was tight. He was really mad.

They did they same to Nudge, and she whimpered a little bit. She had been ready, and had kept herself from crying out to look strong. _What a trooper._

Iggy looked really mad, and he was starting to fly over to where he had heard Nudge when a Flyboy called out.

"Don't move, or we'll shoot."

That stopped Iggy in his tracks, and Fang flew up to hover beside him.

"What do you want?" He called out strongly, and I realized that I loved his husky voice. Why is that you don't notice you like someone until one of you is about to die?

The Flyboy that had spoken before answered. "The director would like to see them, and the one known as Angel."

"Why?" Fang said, and his voice was ice cold. I would hate to be receiving that anger. He had never gotten _that _mad at me. "What does she want with them?"

Good question. I had no idea.

"They ruined her plan. They caused an uprising at the rally. The one known as Max defeated the prize hybrid, Omega. She must be destroyed. No one who can defeat Omega may survive."

Iggy spoke up. "Then what does she want with Angel and Nudge?"

"The one known as-"

I couldn't stand it anymore. I bit the hand holding my mouth until I tasted metal, and the Flyboy let go.

"Haven't you heard?" I spat. "We aren't 'known as' we _are_. I _am _Max, she _is_ Nudge, and Angel _is_ Angel. Just like he _is_ Fang, and he _is_ Iggy." I gestured with my head at Nudge, Fang, and Iggy. "So, keep that straight, unless you want to be 'known as' Stupid." I saw Fang and Iggy smile.

The Flyboy turned to me. "Shut up." He droned, and slapped me right across the face.

My head spun and I cried out, since his hand was made of metal. Fang looked like he was about to beat the crap out of the Flyboy, but Iggy held him back.

The Flyboy continued like nothing had happened. "The one known as Angel stirred up the mutants with her mind control-"

Nudge had bitten the hand of the Flyboy holding her mouth shut and interrupted. "Oh, so Omega's a 'hybrid' but everyone else is a mutant? Well, you're no 'hybrid' either, metal-head. You don't even deserve to be called mutant, or even freak. You're more of a… piece of junk."

Stupid nodded at the Flyboy holding Nudge's hair, and he pulled sharply. Nudge screamed, but shut up as soon as she started.

Iggy was glaring at the Flyboy with his sightless eyes, and if looks could kill 'Stupid' here would be in the Junkyard already.

"Oh, great description, Nudge!" I praised. "But, to me, he looks more like…a scrap heap that someone mistook for a dumpster and filled it with crap."

Fang nodded. "Yeah, I see it now. See, he's got that big clump of something on his head. Oh, oops, it's his face."

Iggy laughed. "Yeah, I can smell it from here. Gross."

The four of us laughed, and Stupid approached me. "This is your fault!" He screeched. "Why have you taught them to act so stupid? This will not help you!"

I pretended to be indignant. "What?! Me, teach them, to be stupid? That sounds like your job. I've taught them to be funny, and smart, and strong, and brave. If they are stupid, they learned it from you. You're clearly a bad influence. I don't think we should hang out with you anymore."

We laughed again and he snarled. "ENOUGH!!!" He zoomed forward and slapped me again. I cried out. I tasted blood, and spat it into his face. He slapped me for a third time and I screamed. I saw stars, but still didn't go limp.

"That's the best you can hit? Angel hits better than that." He slapped me. I stayed strong, and was about to retort, when Fang called to me.

"Max, stop! He's ripping you apart!"

Stupid smiled at me. "Yes, listen to him. Before I really do rip you apart."

I couldn't help myself. "Yeah, like you could do that." He slapped me a fifth time and I couldn't help it. I spat in his face. He slapped me yet again, and I saw stars and went limp. I could feel blood dripping out of my mouth, and struggled to get upright again, but my face hurt too badly.

I could hear Fang roaring, and Iggy trying to calm him down. But Stupid was yelling over the noise that the two boys were making.

"This has no purpose. We will just kill you here and now." He flew over to Nudge. "Starting with this one."

**

* * *

**


	8. Falling

**A/N- Sorry I haven't updated, my computer wasn't working. But it's fixed now!! Thnks for reviewing! I think I'll finally finish the fight scene in this chapter. Woohoo!! Oh, yeah, by the way. Incase there's any confusion, there were only 17 Flyboys total. Fang and Iggy took care of 2, and the rest are hovering around Max and Nudge. **

**Disclaimer- Whatever.**

_-Previously on Hot and Cold-_

"This has no purpose. We will just kill you here and now." He flew over to Nudge. "Starting with this one."

"NO!" Iggy, Fang and I yelled simultaneously.

Well, I tried to, but my voice was really weak. My face was throbbing, but I managed to lift my head. I looked over at Nudge and saw her struggling. Stupid had a Flyboy hold her head still, and he held the gun against her head.

I had started crying around the fourth time Stupid slapped me, but I just noticed now. "Please, please. Just let her go!" I begged. "I'll go with you, just don't shoot her! Please!" I was sobbing now, but he didn't pay any attention to my pleads.

"You had to act stupid, Maximum. This is your fault! You brought this upon her."

Iggy seemed to be frozen. He just floated in the air, listening numbly.

Until Nudge started screaming. "IGGY! MAX! FANG! Oh, God, IGGY!!! Help! I don't wanna die!! Not yet!!! IGGY!!"

Iggy was flying around in circles, his face a picture of pure torture. Fang looked slightly worried, which meant he was totally burning up on the inside with worry.

Wait… burning…inside…Fang!

"Fang! Burn them!"

Fang looked at me like I was insane, then comprehension dawned on his features. He shook his head.

I screeched. "WHAT! Fang, please!"

Nudge started sobbing. "Iggy! IGGY! Someone, help!"

Stupid turned off the safety.

Fang looked like he was fighting an internal battle. "No, I could hit her, or you, or Iggy!"

Iggy started listening. "Fang, please help her! She can't die!"

Fang bowed his head.

"FANG!" I screamed, and Fang looked up, his eyes blazing with determination.

He sped at Nudge, opening his mouth as he went. Fire flew out of his mouth, and scorched the Flyboys holding Nudge. The two Flyboys holding her wings pulled them together in the back, and they flew away.

Nudge plummeted to the ground, screaming. Iggy swooped after her, and I heard Nudge's screams stop as he caught her.

All the Flyboys around Nudge had fallen, or flown away. Except for one.

Stupid flew at me, and the other Flyboys backed away. He grabbed me around my throat, and lifted me up. I kicked and punched, but it didn't seem to do anything. So, I did a pretty reasonable thing. I spat in his face. Again.

He roared, and shook me around like a rag doll. My teeth rattled around in my head, but I just glared at him. Fang spun around and saw Stupid strangling me. He flew over to us and crashed into his back.

Stupid slapped me one more time, before letting go of my throat and attacking Fang. I gasped for breath, and then I noticed that I was falling. Really fast.

I tried to flap my wings, or at least slow down, but my brain was scrambled after that last _marvelous_ slap. (Note the sarcasm) I couldn't move my wings, so I prayed that Fang would notice. Soon.

I was still gasping for air, and my eyes were closed. I was just wondering how much farther away the ground was when Fang's strong arms scooped me up.

I opened my eyes to see him looking down at me. I smiled, and he smiled back. Wow. He was really worried.

We were headed towards the ground. I saw Iggy approach us, carrying Nudge. Nudge looked shocked, and Iggy seemed worried.

"Is she okay?" He asked, and I could hear his voice shake. Whoa, what was it with guys being worried today?

I tried to speak, but blood was in my mouth and it didn't work too well. Fang answered instead. "She just shocked, Ig. She'll be okay."

Iggy seemed relieved, and we landed in a clearing. Fang set me down carefully, but Iggy just sat down and put Nudge in his lap. She immediately started bawling, and Iggy hugged her close.

Fang glanced at me, and motioned away from the clearing, as if to say "Let's leave them alone." I nodded, and we slipped through the trees.

_

* * *

_

Nudge started bawling and Iggy hugged her close. She clutched at his shirt, and he rubbed her back.

They were both shaking, Nudge because she had almost died, and Iggy because he had almost lost the most important person in his life.

Eventually Nudge's sobbing formed into understandable words and Iggy listened carefully.

"I…I…I th…thought I was go…gonna…die!"

For some reason Iggy was mad. "Don't ever do that to me again! I was so scared!"

Nudge stopped crying. "You were scared! I was about to _die_!"

"Yeah, but I was about to lose you."

Nudge looked up into Iggy's eyes and saw something she thought she would never see… someone looking at her with love, and not sibling love, in their eyes.

For practically the first time in her life, Nudge was at a loss for words. Iggy didn't know what was going on, but he could feel that something was changing. After a while Iggy broke the silence.

"Nudge? Are you okay?"

Nudge was dying to say how much she loved the tall, sightless boy holding her. The only problem was she didn't know what to say. "Iggy, I…"

But she didn't have to. Iggy heard the tone of her voice, and made a split decision that he hoped wouldn't backfire.

He lightly brushed his hand over Nudge's face, until he found her lips. Then he slowly leaned in and kissed her.

Nudge froze for a second, and then she started to kiss him back. Iggy cocked his head so they could kiss better, and the kiss deepened. Nudge wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Neither of them thought that the other would like them so much, but they weren't complaining. Inside, they were both bursting with joy.

So they stayed in their little bubble of peace and love until Iggy's keen ears heard Max and Fang approaching.

**A/N- So, what did you think? I want your honest opinions. I've got no idea when I'll be able to update next, so please don't get mad at me. I'll update again as soon as I can, so until then, two reviews! THANKS!!!**


	9. Feelings

**A/N- Hey! Sorry it took so long. I just got back from Florida, and I've been really busy. But, anyway, here's the chapter you've all been waiting for. THE FAXNESS IS HERE!!!!!!!!! I know you just want to read about our two favorite Flying Bird Kids, so, here ya go!!**

**Disclaimer- As much as I wish I did own it, I don't. **

_-Max and Fang-_

As we walked a little ways away from where Iggy and Nudge were Fang and I were silent. I was dizzy, and I could feel my face bruising, but I didn't want to bother Fang so I kept quiet.

After a couple of minutes I couldn't stand straight, but I still kept going.

When we stopped for a second at a clearing I didn't notice that I had been falling over until Fang grabbed my elbow.

"Max?"

He was looking at me worriedly, and I tried to smile at him. I painstakingly stood up straight and took a step forward, but I fell. Fang caught me and carefully set me down on a rock.

He stared at me. I stared at my feet.

Finally he started speaking. "Max, why didn't you tell me you were dizzy?"

I didn't look at him. "It didn't seem very important?" It sounded like more of a question than an answer.

He sighed. "Max, you might have a concussion; you've been slapped by a metal hand seven times; you're probably suffering from emotional strain; and your mouth is bleeding." Then he stopped. "Oh crap! I can't believe I forgot! You're bleeding!" Fang pulled off his shirt and started cleaning off my mouth.

He cleaned the blood away from my mouth, while I tried to lift the mood. "No. Way. Me, under emotional strain?" He almost grinned.

Whoa. He was actually that worried?

After my mouth was blood free he stepped back and I stood up. I tried not to stare at his chest, but he was totally ripped, not to mention ho- _NO! Bad Max! Bad bad bad bad Max!_

As much as I tried not to look at Fang, my gaze kept sliding over to him.

_Okay, Max, distract yourself. Okay, um…look, a tree! We went to New York that time, and we slept in those trees and those jerky policemen made us leave and we had to run. And, when we were in New York we got makeovers. That was cool. We also got new clothes, and Fang got a new shirt, and it's a pity, cause if he had walked around without a shirt it would have been fine with m- WHOA! Where the _**crap**_ did that come from? Okay, new train of thought. What to distract myself with …a rock!_

Just then, Fang snapped his fingers in front of my face. I blinked, and realized that I had been spacing out. Ohhh, he put his shirt back on. That's a good thing. Right? "Uh… what?"

Fang sighed. "I said, does anything else hurt?"

I thought for a second, and shrugged. "No. I guess not."

"You guess not, or no."

"No. I just feel a little dizzy, but that'll go away in a bit."

"Whatever." He sat down next to me. We both stared into space for a minute, then I had a great idea.

I turned slightly so I was looking at Fang. "I'm bored."

Fang rolled his eyes. "So? What do you want me to do about it?"

I smiled. "Play with me."

"_What?_" In case you haven't heard, Fang isn't exactly a big game-player. He likes some games, but some he _absolutely hates!_

"Please?" I made a puppy-dog face at him, and he sighed. I knew he couldn't resist my puppy-dog face.

Then he smiled. "Fine. What do you wanna play?"

I stood up and faced him. "I want to play…you're it!" I tagged his shoulder and sprinted off through the woods.

I heard him behind me. He was catching up.

We're a lot faster than normal men. Even Angel can outrun a normal man. But Fang was faster than me, and we both knew it.

That didn't mean I had to give up, though.

I sped up a bit, and looked ahead for a clearing. I saw some light, and headed towards it.

When I got there I got ready to take off into the air, where I was faster.

I was just about to fling out my wings when someone tackled me from behind. I flew forward and felt Fang wrap his arms around me, then move as we flew through the air so I landed on top of him. **(A/N-Okay, so they're flying through the air, with Fang moving underneath Max as they fly so he won't land on her. Just incase anyone got confused)**

We hit the ground with a thud, and I squirmed around. Fang tightened his hold around my waist and moved so his mouth was right by my ear.

"Don't. Move."

I stopped moving. "Why?"

"We're on the top of a giant hill. One wrong move and we could go tumbling down."

So, of course, I craned my neck to see the hill. I heard Fang hiss, and then we were tumbling down. I curled against Fang's chest as branches and rocks struck at us, and Fang hunched his shoulders.

When we finally stopped moving I cautiously lifted my head and looked around. We were at the bottom of a ravine-type-thing, and I could distantly see the top.

I rolled off of Fang and we both stared at the stars.

Fang spoke up. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You?"

"I'm fine."

I looked at him. "Really, or are you just saying that?"

"Really. I'm fine."

I believed him and looked back at the stars.

We lay like that for a while, until I suddenly felt like saying something. "Thanks."

Fang stirred beside me. "What?"

I repeated myself. "Thanks."

"For what?" I could barely hear the confusion in his voice.

"Everything."

"Max, I've never done anything to really help you. All I've really ever done is hurt you." His voice was full of sadness.

I sat up. "That's not true! You've saved me every time I fall, you've always helped me, you've always listened to everything I can't tell the others, you've always been there! You've never hurt me without a reason. It might not be a good reason, but it's still a reason. You've always helped me, more times than I can count."

Fang sat up too. "Max, you know that's not true."

I stood up. I had to make him see, I had to make him understand. All of a sudden it was extremely important. "No, Fang, you don't get it. I _need_ you, more than you know. I need you to always be there. I need your help, and you've always been there. You have no idea how important that is to me. No idea how important _you_ are to me, to the flock! I-"

Fang stood up too, and he cut my little speech short when he put a finger on my lips. "Max, do you really mean that?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Do I mean it?! Of course I mean it! Fang-"

He silenced me again, but this time with his lips.

I froze for a second, and all trains of thought stopped. I felt Fang frown against my mouth, thinking he had done the wrong thing.

Did I want this? Did I want to kiss Fang, and not have to pretend that I didn't like him, when, I now realized, I always had?

The answer came with perfect clarity.

_Yes, I did want this._

I kissed him back. He smiled against me, and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer as he did so. I threw my arms around his neck and closed my eyes.

A few minutes later we broke apart for air. I stepped back, my eyes on the ground.

What if he just kissed me to shut me up, but he didn't want to break it off because he didn't want to be rude?

My questions were answered when Fang lifted my chin with his hand. He looked me in the eye. "Max? You okay?"

It sounded like he was nervous that _I_ didn't like _him_!

I smiled up at him. "I'm fine."

He wrapped his arms around me and crushed me to his chest, resting his face in my hair. I closed my eyes and let the warmth from his embrace warm me up, and keep the chill from the rain-

Hang on. It's raining?!

"Ouch!" I looked up at the sky, and a rain drop fell right in my eye.

Fang looked down at me. "What!"

"It's raining!"

He looked at the sky and blinked. "Wow. I guess it is."

"We should head back. We need to get Iggy and Nudge, and then we need to find the Gasman and Angel."

He nodded and unhappily took his arms from around me.

I looked for a way out of the ravine, but didn't see one.

"Okay, we'll need to fly out."

We unfurled our wings and sprang into the air, and flew off to find Nudge and Iggy.

**A/N- So, what did you think? I liked it a lot, personally. I don't mind some light criticisms, so tell the truth. I know it should be a bit fluffier, but I wanted to start the Faxness out slow. Review please, and keep reading! Thanks!**


	10. Findings

**A/N- Hey! Thanks for reviewing, and here's ch. 10!!! It's really long. At least by my standards.**

**Disclaimer- Don't you get the idea by now?**

_3rd person point of view_

Iggy heard Max and Fang approaching, and he unwillingly pulled away from Nudge.

Nudge rested her forehead on Iggy's and smiled. "What is it?"

Iggy sighed. "Max and Fang'll be here soon. I can hear them."

And sure enough, Nudge distantly heard Fang and Max talking about something.

She sighed and climbed off of Iggy's lap. Sitting down next to him, she realized how tired she was and leaned her head on Iggy's shoulder. Iggy put an arm around her, and they waited for Max and Fang to come.

* * *

After Fang and I got out of that stupid ravine we walked through the woods. We would have flown, but flying in the rain stinks. So we walked.

After a couple minutes we were completely lost. All the stupid trees looked the same, and it was hard to see through the rain, anyways.

"I think it's this way." I pointed off in some random direction.

Fang shook his head wearily. "Nope. We just came from that direction." He pointed in the opposite direction. "I think it's that way."

I peered through the trees. "You sure?"

Fang shrugged. "No. But it's worth a shot."

"Okaayyy…"

We walked in that direction, and sure enough, I saw Iggy and Nudge sitting under a tree. Nudge looked like she was asleep, and Iggy had an arm around her shoulder.

I slipped through the trees and into the clearing. Iggy stiffened and turned his head to face me.

"It's just us, Ig." I said, and Fang came up behind me. "We need to go find Gazzy and Angel."

Fang looked at Nudge closely. "Is she asleep?"

Iggy shrugged. "No idea." He put one hand under her head and the other under her knees, and picked her up. "But let's not wake her up. She needs rest."

He was about to take off, when I remembered that it was raining. "Uh…Ig?" He turned to the sound of my voice. "It's raining. We're gonna have to walk."

He rolled his eyes and pulled his wings in. "It doesn't feel like it's raining."

"Well, we are under some trees, and it's only drizzling."

"Then we better start walking." Iggy turned to the trees, then back to me and Fang. "Uhh…where are we going?"

I turned to look at Fang, and Fang looked back at me. "No idea."

Fang sighed. "Let's go."

He walked into the woods; I followed, and Iggy, after adjusting Nudge, followed me.

_

* * *

_

Angel lay on her stomach and watched Gazzy light the fire. They had gotten one lit a while ago, but then it started drizzling and it went out. So Gazzy had to start a new one.

Total trotted up to her and hopped on her back. "What time is it?"

Angel thought for a second. "No idea. Bet Gazzy knows!" She called to Gazzy. "Gazzy? What time is it?"

Gazzy looked up from the newly sparking fire. "I don't know." He glanced around the tree-covered clearing. "How long have we been here?"

Angel shrugged. "Wish I knew." She rolled on her back and grabbed Total. "Total? Do you know?"

Total shook his head. "Nope. But Max said to wait for two hours, and it's been longer than that." He scratched his head with a paw. "I think."

Angel looked at Gazzy, and Gazzy stared back. Angel voiced their thoughts.

"Two hours. It wouldn't take this long for the four of them to finish off twenty erasers, would it?"

Gazzy stood up and walked over to Angel. He sat down by her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe they just got lost."

Angel didn't even have to read his mind to know that he wasn't sure.

_

* * *

_

Have I ever told you how much I hate walking? Flying is _so_ much faster, and you don't have to worry about getting your feet all nasty and muddy.

After fifteen minutes of our obnoxious trekking through the woods, Nudge woke up.

We were just walking, with Fang and I up front and Iggy (with Nudge) behind us, following the sound of our crunching feet.

All of a sudden I heard Nudge's voice. "No more monkeys!"

Fang and I spun around, just in time to see Nudge flailing around. Iggy almost dropped her, and she woke up.

"Oh, hi Iggy!" She looked around. "Where are we?"

I sighed. "I wish we knew, Nudge. I wish we knew."

Nudge looked up at Iggy and smiled. Too bad Iggy couldn't see it. Nudge blinked, like she was remembering that Iggy was blind, and corrected herself.

"Iggy, I'm smiling."

Iggy nodded a thank you.

"You can put me down now." Nudge said, leaning her head against Iggy's chest.

Iggy had a faraway look on his face, and he was starting to smile.

Nudge put her hand on his shoulder and repeated herself.

Iggy blinked and nodded. "Oh. Right."

He carefully placed Nudge on the ground, and we resumed walking.

A few minutes later Nudge broke the tired silence that hovered over our group.

"Hey Max? Where are we going? Oh, I've got a better question. Where are we? Are we looking for Gazzy and Angel? What about Total?"

I could hear Iggy quietly laughing. He sped up to walk next to Fang, and I could have sworn that I heard him whisper to Fang. "So, I guess she's okay?"

I slowed down to talk to Nudge. "We are going to look for the others. That's what we're doing right now. I've got no idea where we are. We're lost."

I know what you're thinking. Max, invincible Maximum Ride, is admitting that she's lost. Well, I was exhausted, even though it was only about 11:00 o'clock. Too exhausted to pretend to know where we were.

Nudge looked surprised. "Oh, so that's what we're doing. Why didn't you say so?" She bent down and picked up some dirt. Closing her eyes, she concentrated.

"Iggy! Fang! Wait!" I called. "Nudge is on to something!"

Fang and Iggy turned around and came back to where I was standing. Fang and I watched Nudge, and Iggy had this big smile on his face.

Suddenly Nudge snapped her eyes open and started yelling.

And let me tell ya, that girl can _scream_.

Fang and I winced and covered our ears.

It wasn't half as bad as us as it was for Iggy, though. With his super-sensitive hearing, the sound was like, five times louder.

He sunk to the ground, squeezing his hands over his ears.

But, the weird thing was, he looked like he was more worried about Nudge than himself.

Maybe I was just imagining things.

Anyways, eventually Nudge's random screaming turned into words.

"ANGEL!! GAZZY!!!! TOTAL!!!"

Finally she stopped. She turned to us and said calmly, "They're nearby."

Then she took in what she was seeing.

Fang and I were on our knees, covering our ears with our hands. Iggy was curled in a ball, clutching his head.

Nudge ran up to Iggy and kneeled beside him. "OHMIGOD!!! Iggy? Are you okay?"

Iggy sat up, and I saw he was laughing. "Whoa! Nudge! Have you been practicing or something? That's the loudest noise I've ever heard!"

Nudge smiled and held his hand up to her mouth so he knew.

"I had a good reason."

By now Fang and I were back on our feet. We walked over to Nudge and congratulated her.

"Wow, great screaming Nudge." I managed to sound a little supportive, despite the fact that I might be going deaf.

"Nudge, that was good screaming an' all, but what was the point?" Fang cut straight to the point.

Nudge smiled innocently at us. "You'll see."

And, sure enough, Angel contacted us.

_Hey Max! Where are you guys?_

I felt so relieved. They were okay!

_Angel, can you tell us how to get to…wherever you are?_

_Sure!_

* * *

Ten minutes later we were all sitting around the fire Gazzy had made.

We were exhausted, hungry, wet, and cold. It was raining, so we couldn't fly.

I wasn't in a good mood.

We were all so tired, and it wasn't even afternoon yet.

Nudge was the only one who wasn't half asleep. Iggy lay flat on his back and watched her run around in circles. Angel was using Total as a pillow, and Gazzy was hanging upside-down from a tree. Don't ask me why, cause I seriously don't know.

I couldn't keep my head off of Fang's shoulder. Every time I picked it up, it plopped back down. I think Fang was kinda enjoying it.

Eventually it started thundering. It wasn't raining very hard, but it was loud thunder. I met Fang's eyes and realized that thunder meant lighting. And lighting usually meant falling trees. And, you know, it wasn't like we were surrounded by retarded trees or anything! No, not even _our_ luck could be that bad.

I wish.

Fang and I leapt up, awakened by adrenaline. I ran over to Angel and picked her off of the ground. She was still clutching Total, and mumbling quietly in her sleep.

Fang pulled Gazzy down from the tree, and ran to meet me.

Iggy had jumped up sleepily when he heard us running around, and Nudge was standing next to him, watching us silently.

I turned to her. "Nudge, lead Iggy. We need to get out of these woods."

Luckily, Nudge didn't question my orders and grabbed Iggy's hand. Fang and I led the way out of the clearing.

We sprinted through the woods, dodging trees and bushes.

After what felt like forever we reached the end of the forest and stopped just outside the tree line.

I put Angel down and rolled my arms. Fang did the same, and Gazzy and Angel curled up like puppies.

I turned to Nudge, who was carefully putting Iggy on the ground. Iggy was telling her that he wasn't tired, that he didn't need to rest, but she was ignoring him.

Then she turned to us. "Where are we going? It's too stormy to stay outside. And we're all tired. Except for me. But I took a nap earlier. Do you think we'll get struck by lightning? At least it's only drizzling. If it were pouring, that would really stink."

Of course, the minute she said that it started to pour. Within seconds we were all drenched.

I turned to Nudge. "Okay, Nudge." I said tiredly. "Since you've gone through the most drama today, you get to choose where we're going."

Nudge's mouth hung open, and I could feel Fang's questioning gaze on my back. I gave him a "We'll talk about this later" look, and he nodded.

Nudge smiled. "Let's go to a hotel. A really nice one. With an indoor pool and plenty of rooms and beds, and room service, and a Continental Breakfast, and we can get a suite! Or maybe three suites!"

I smiled. "Okay, Nudge. A hotel it is."

And off we went to find a hotel. And a city. But that doesn't matter right now.

**A/N-Thnks for reading, I hope you liked it, blah blah blah. Review, some constructive criticism, thanks. God I'm tired.**


	11. Fingers

**A/N-Big thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. Last time I checked I had 98 REVIEWS!!! That's a lot, considering I didn't even think I'd get 5. Thanks so much, and here's the chapter! **

**BTW- This is just a filler. I'm reading this really good fanfic, and I can't really concentrate right now. And, my brother's breathing down my neck, cause I've spent all day on **_**my**_** computer. GET YOUR OWN COMPUTER!!!** **Don't blame me, blame my brother. Look, if I tell you what school he goes to will you strangle him for me?**

**Disclaimer-Two words- I WISH!**

After about thirty minutes of walking we arrived at a small town that had a ton of hotels. After a lot of guessing as to why such a small town had so many hotels, Nudge plucked up the courage to ask a random passerby where we were.

While Iggy, Fang and I hid behind some bushes. What can I say? We don't do well with strangers.

The conversation went something like this:

Nudge- Excuse me ma'am, but where are we?

Random Passerby- (Talking in a baby voice) Oh, aren't you such a cute wittle girl! Where are your mommy and daddy?

Nudge- (Expression of horror on her face) Uhh…They're… buying some… postcards… to send to my…grandparents!

Random Passerby- Okay! How old are you? Aren't you a wittle young to be wandering around by yourself? Why don't I take you to get a big, nice cookie.

Nudge- No thanks. Where are we?

Random Passerby- Why, we're in the world of lollypops and unicorns and rainbows!

Nudge- No, seriously, where are we?

Random Passerby- Aren't wou a wittle woung to be serious?

Nudge- No, I'm eleven. Could you _paalease_ take this seriously?

Random Passerby- Oh, so cute! She thinks she's a sassy wittle girl!

Nudge- (Voice a low, deadly whisper) Listen lady, I need to know where we are. If you don't tell me in ten seconds I'll make you eat your own stomach. Got that?

Random Passerby- (Speaking hurriedly) We're in Breitenbush Hot Springs. In Oregon. **(A/N- Yes, it's a real place. I Googled it!)**Don't hurt me.

Nudge- (Voice back to normal) Thanks!

When she skipped back to meet us, we all burst out laughing.

Well, Iggy, Fang, and I did. Angel and Gazzy were still asleep.

But now Fang was carrying Angel and Iggy was carrying Gazzy. Nudge and I offered to take them for a bit, but the boys wouldn't let us.

So we burst out laughing at Nudge and her new friend. Not at the stomach part, that was serious. Well, we did laugh at that part. But, we also laughed at the "wittle girl" part. If that lady had known that Nudge could cave her ribcage in with one kick, that wouldn't have happened.

It was one of those "You had to be there" things.

After we finished laughing, we talked business.

"Okay, so we know where we are now." I turned to Nudge. "Nudge, you get to decide where we stay."

Nudge's eyes lit up. "A hotel!"

I _so_ wanted to say "No duh!" But it wasn't her fault I was so tired. "Which hotel?"

Nudge's eyes lit up even more. "You mean, I get to choose?"

I nodded.

Nudge's squeal was so loud I bet Mom heard it.

_**A couple minutes later…**_

"Nudge…You sure you want to stay _here_?"

Fang and I were staring at the biggest hotel I had ever seen. It must have been at least twenty stories tall.

Iggy started poking me. "Max? What does it look like? Max! I can't see, you know. Tell me what the hotel looks like!" He poked me again. And again. And again.

Nudge sounded affronted. "Heck, yeah! This place looks amazing! We can get a suite, with a private pool, and stay here forever!"

I sighed. "Nudge, i- IGGY!!! POKE ME ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL RIP YOUR FRICKEN FINGER OFF YOUR HAND!!!" I took a deep breath before turning back to Nudge. "Nudge, if you really want to stay here that's fine with me. But we can't stay for more than a few days. But, we will get a suite. Maybe even a Master Suite." _If we can get one._

Nudge nodded happily before rushing into the hotel. I followed, but not before I heard Fang softly start explaining what the hotel looked like to Iggy.

**A/N- kay, hope you liked it. I'm going for 100 reviews. I only need 2 more, so it's not too hard. I'll update again tomorrow, if my mom doesn't take my computer out of my room. **


	12. Freaky FrontDesk Lady

**A/N- YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!! We made 100 reviews! I'm so happy! Sorry it took so long to update, I've just been really busy.**

**Disclaimer- What? I **_**don't **_**own Maximum Ride? You're kidding me. (Note the sarcasm)**

We walked in the hotel and stared around in awe. The hotel was huge inside, with marble sculptures and huge diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Rich guests and employees moved around like ants in an anthill, busy talking and carrying heavy bags..

But the commotion all stopped the second we walked in.

Dozens of keen and searching eyes hooked onto us, taking in everything.

We stared right back at them.

I thought about what we must look like.

Six unsupervised kids, and a dog, ages ranging from about eight to seventeen (by appearance, cause we're super-tall for our ages) with long, dirty, ratty, disgusting hair, shredded, bloody clothes, pale faces drawn with exhaustion, skin covered in dirt, and rainwater dripping off them, onto the marble floor.

All in all, not a particularly trustworthy bunch.

I swallowed, and took a few steps forward.

When I realized that no one else was stepping forwards with me, I turned around and grabbed Fang and Nudge's hands. Nudge grabbed Iggy as I dragged them forward with me.

While Iggy and Fang went over to some plush couches to put Gazzy, Angel, and Total down Nudge and I walked up to the check-in counter. The lady there looked to be about nineteen years old, and was shorter than Nudge. She had beach-blond hair, and a perky smile.

She actually looked like a model.

She smiled at me. "Hello, miss. What can I do for you?"

I raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "Uh, we'd like a room. Actually, three presidential suites with a two double beds in each and a rooftop, or private, pool."

She stared at me blankly, then started typing and muttering to herself. "Okay, so… three rooms…" Then she seemed to realize that we were still standing there. "Oh, hi!"

"Hi?" I glanced at Nudge. She had a confused expression on her face, and was staring at the check-in lady. Her nametag said Abbey.

Then Fang came up to us. "Hey Max, almost done?"

I jumped when I realized how close to me he was standing, but composed myself. "Uhhh… Yeah, almost."

He nodded and walked back to Iggy.

When I turned back to Abbey she was smiling at Fang's back. I didn't like the way she was smiling. She looked at me. "Who's _he_? Your brother? Close friend?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. _She better not…_

"Ooh, is he your cousin? Cause he is _hot_."

I glared. "He's… my boyfriend." I blushed. _Well, he _is_ technically. He did kiss me._

Nudge glanced questioningly at me.

Abbey frowned. "Ohhh… Well, what about the red-head? He's hot too! You can't be dating _both_ of them!" She looked at Nudge appraisingly. "And he _can't_ be dating her…" She trailed off, but all three of us knew what she was saying.

Nudge was stiff as a board beside me, and I could feel anger rolling off her in waves. When she spoke, her voice was the coldest and most menacing I'd ever heard it. "Oh, well, he _is_ actually my boyfriend, so step off!"

Now it was my turn to look at her questioningly.

Abbey looked embarrassed, and cleared her throat. "Um, so, how long will you be staying with us?"

I thought for a second. "Ummm… I don't know. Can I get back to you on that in the morning?"

.Abbey nodded. "Yep."

I handed her my credit card, and she scanned it. I took the keys she handed me and turned to Nudge. We were just about to leave when Abbey called after us.

"Have fun with your _boyfriends_!"

Nudge wiped her eyes angrily, and glared at Abbey with my patented "Death Glare".

Then she spun on her heel and sprinted over to Iggy.

Iggy had been staring at the floor, concentrating on the sounds around him. When he heard Nudge's light step running towards him, he looked up with a confused expression on his face.

Then Nudge crashed into him, and started sobbing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, bewildered, as she threw her arms around his neck.

I walked back slowly, and signaled to Fang to wake up Gazzy and Angel.

When I got there Angel and Gazzy were wiping their eyes sleepily. Angel came up to me and put her hand in mine.

"Max?" Her voice was incredibly quite.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Are we staying here for a little bit?"

"Yeah."

Angel nodded sleepily and noticed that Nudge was crying. "Why's Nudge crying?"

Gazzy and Fang looked at me when Angel asked, clearly waiting for an answer too.

I sighed. "Why don't we go up to the rooms? We're kinda causing a scene here."

They nodded, and we walked to the stairs with Iggy, his arm wrapped securely around a sniffling Nudge, following.

**A/N- Just two reviews'll do. Thanks so much! Sorry it's so short. The next chapter will be up soon!!!**


	13. Fang's Evil

**A/N- Hey! Thanks so much for reviewing! Sorry if you didn't get why Nudge was crying. I'll explain it in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer- I own the plot, but I don't own hotel rooms, Maximum Ride, or Risk.**

We walked up like, twenty-thousand flights of stairs until we finally got to our penthouse suites.

When we finally got there, Angel and Gazzy took charge of sleeping arrangements before I could even open my mouth.

Angel started the uprising. "Max, Gazzy and I'll share a room. With Total."

I nodded. "O-"

Gazzy interrupted me. "And Nudge and Max can share a room, so that leaves Iggy and Fang to share."

I opened my mouth. "G-"

Angel finished. "Cause there's two beds in each room. That'll work, won't it Max?"

I nodded and Gazzy grabbed the room keys from my hand. He threw one to Fang, who caught it, and one to me, who let the key hit my head and fall to the ground. He took the last one and sped off to his room with Angel and Total.

I rubbed my head and looked at Fang. "What just happened?"

Fang burst out laughing, and after a second I joined him.

Then Iggy tapped Fang in his shoulder. "Hey, can I have the key? Nudge and I need to talk for a bit."

Fang nodded and passed Iggy the key. Nudge led Iggy to the door, and they disappeared into the room.

Fang looked at me and shrugged. "I guess that means we're hanging out for a bit."

I shrugged too. "I guess so."

I opened up the door to my room and we stepped inside.

_

* * *

_

Angel and Gazzy looked around the room with eyes the size of dinner plates.

When you first walked in, there was a sitting room that led to the bedroom. In the bedroom there were two king-sized beds with a 72-inch plasma screen. There was also a bathroom, a small kitchen and dining room with a door that led to the roof-top pool.

The whole suite was painted a bright, sunny yellowish color.

Angel and Total started jumping on a bed while Gazzy tried to find something to watch.

After a couple minutes he got bored and went to look for something else to do. He found a small cabinet full of games and dragged out a game that looked fun.

"Hey, Angel!"

Angle jumped off the bed and skipped over to Gazzy. "What?"

Gazzy shook the game. "Wanna play Risk?"

_

* * *

_

Iggy quietly closed the door behind him and let Nudge lead him over to a bed. He sat down and pulled Nudge down to sit next to him.

Nudge leaned back against his chest and sighed. Iggy listened to her quiet breathing for a couple minutes, absently stroking her hair.

Finally Iggy decided that it was time to talk about Nudge's little break-down. "Nudge?"

"Yeah?" Nudge's voice was like a breath of wind.

"What was that about?"

Nudge didn't even have to ask what he was talking about. "That jerky check-in lady was asking about Fang, cause he came up to us to ask Max something. She was trying to like, hook up with him, but Max said he was her boyfriend." Iggy raised his eyebrows but didn't interrupt.

"So then she started trying to figure out who _you_ were. She said that Max couldn't be dating both you and Fang, so she was going to try to get together with you. She said that I was…" Nudge sniffed. "Too young and not pretty enough to be going out with you." She started crying again. She wasn't making any noise, but Iggy could feel the tears dripping on his arm like rain drops.

Iggy pulled Nudge closer to him and whispered in her ear. "Nudge, you know that's not true. Don't listen to what anyone else tells you. You're perfect." Nudge kept crying. "Look, if you want, Gaz and I'll put a stink bomb behind her desk."

Nudge smiled and managed to stop crying. "Thanks Iggy." She thought for a second. "But, I'm really not pretty enough to go out with you. You're…well, you. You're tall, and skinny, and funny, and cool, and everyone loves you. I'm just the little girl who talks too much and drives everyone crazy. I-"

Iggy covered her mouth with her hand. He ran his other hand over his face wearily. "Nudge, none of that's true. Okay, maybe some of it is, cause, you know, I am pretty cool-" Nudge punched his arm. "Oww!! Just kidding! Anyways, it doesn't matter to me how pretty you are. I can't see you, remember?

"It's your personality that counts, and if anyone tells you that you can't do anything because you're 'Not pretty enough' you just crack their ribs, cause it's _not true!_ You can do anything you want. Even fly! You don't have to be pretty to fly. I mean, Total flies, and we all know _he's_ not pretty."

Nudge laughed, and Iggy smiled. It felt good to make someone else happy. "And, _I'm_ tall? You're almost as tall as Max. That's tall, for an eleven year old. Besides, we're all skinny.

"And, you're one of the coolest people I know. Who made Angel laugh that time she flew into a tree branch and scraped up her legs? Who got Max to take us to Disney World? Who picks us up _every time_ we get sad? Who talks our ears off to distract us from our problems? Who has saved our butts with her skill with computers too many times to count? Who-"

Nudge kissed him. She pulled away after a second and smiled, bringing his hand up to her mouth so he'd know. "Thanks Iggy."

Iggy smiled and kissed her again. "You're welcome."

_

* * *

_

We walked into the room and looked around. It was pretty nice, but a little too fancy for my taste.

I sat down on a bed and grabbed the remote. Fang sat down next to me and we leaned against the headboard. I flipped through the channels until I got to VH1. There were some music videos on, and we watched the Red Hot Chili Peppers dance around for a while before I started talking.

"Soo… what d'you think is going on between Iggy and Nudge?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "I don't know. But I have a good idea."

I sighed. "Together?"

Fang nodded. "Definitely."

Then I thought of something. I rolled on my side so I was facing Fang. "Uh, Fang? What about us? Are we…? Or…?"

He knew what I was saying. "It depends." He rolled on his side too, so we were facing each other. We were only inches apart. "What do you want us to be?"

I blushed. "Umm, I like you as more than a friend, and I really liked it when you kissed me…but, if you don't want to…" I trailed off, startled by the look in Fang's eyes. It was the look he got before he was about to do some really fancy trick, or do something really brave and daring.

He closed the small space between us and kissed me. I immediately kissed him back, and he smiled. Then he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. I put one hand behind his head, tangling it in his hair, and the other behind his neck.

When we had to breathe we broke apart unwillingly, staring at each other.

Fang smiled, and the sun shone on me. "Well, I guess that means that we're together."

I nodded. "Yeah. Should we tell them?"

Fang shook his head. "Nope. Let them figure it out for themselves."

I grinned. "You're evil, you know that, right?"

He leaned back, cushioning his head with his hands. "That's what they say."

I laughed at him. "So, do you wanna go swim? We do have a private pool."

Fang shrugged. "Sure. Whatever." He thought for a second. "Hang on, isn't it raining?"

I grimaced. "Oh. Right." I walked over to a window and looked outside. "It's still raining." I turned back to Fang. "What do you wanna do now?"

Fang shrugged again. "I don't care."

I smiled. "Okay. We're going shopping!"

Fang sat up. "What? No, Max, I hate shopping. I H-A-T-E hate shopping."

I frowned. "Oh, come on, Fang! We need some new clothes really bad. We also need bathing suits, and Total needs a collar, and we all need new haircuts. We can go to whatever stores we want! It doesn't matter how expensive it is. I feel like splurging!"

He didn't seem swayed.

I crossed my arms across my chest angrily. "Fine! If you don't want to go, we'll go without you and get you some clothes that _we_ like!"

Fang rolled his eyes. "Fine. But we're not getting anything stupid, right? Like, no new stuffed animals or anything."

I brushed some stray hair away from my eyes. "No duh! We really don't need anymore junk to carry around with us. We're just getting clothes, and that's it."

Fang nodded. "We leave in five, then?"

"I'll go get Gazzy and Angel."

I left my room and walked next door to Gazzy and Angel's room. I knocked, but no one answered. I could hear them yelling behind the door, and I used an extra key to get in.

I walked in, looking around warily. "Guys?" I called, closing the door quietly behind me. "Wanna go shopping?"

I walked into a living room looking place, and saw Total watching TV. "Hey Total." I said, steeping over what looked like a game board. I picked up the box and read the side. "Risk?"

Total yawned. "Angel and Gazzy were trying to play, but they couldn't figure out the rules so Angel told Gazzy that they should just wage a war." I looked around, noticing the groups of multicolored little army men lying all over the room. "So, as generals, they had to fight each other, so know they're having a huge pillow fight." Total scratched his ear.

"And you didn't break them up because…"

Total shrugged. "I didn't want to ruin their fun."

I sighed. "Go get Nudge and Iggy and tell them that we're going shopping. Meet us in the hallway."

Total jumped off the couch and trotted out the door. I walked into the bedroom and saw Gazzy and Angel hitting each other with pillows. I ran forward and grabbed Gazzy, pulling him away from Angel. Angel tried to run at Gazzy and hit him with her pillow, but I knocked the pillow out of her hand and put my hand out to stop her from coming any closer. I out my other hand on Gazzy's chest and held them apart, ignoring their struggling.

"Guys!" I called, trying to be louder than their yells. "STOP!!! We're going shopping!"

They stopped fighting and looked at me, seeming to be mirror images of each other.

"Okay Max!" Gazzy said, and pushed Angel out of the way. "I'll beat you to the elevator!" He called, and ran out of the room.

Angel ran after him, and I walked slowly behind them, closing the door as I left.

When I got into the hallway Total was trying to reach the elevator button, and Iggy and Gazzy were talking about something in low whispers. Nudge and Angel were talking about the kind of clothes they were going to get, and Fang was leaning against the wall, his bangs covering his eyes.

I walked up to him and nudged his side with my elbow. "Ready to go?"

He looked up at me and grinned. "Yeah."

**A/N- I hope you liked it, R&R, you know the drill.**


	14. Figuring

**A/N- Thanks for reviewing, they really make me feel good. Sorry it took so long to update, I got hooked on Spider Solitaire. I LOVE THAT GAME!!!! So, I hope you like chapter 14!!!**

We crowded into the small elevator. Total was bouncing up and down, but the rest of us were trying not to freak out. Claustrophobia can do that to you.

We exploded out of the elevator when we finally got to the lobby. Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge sucked in deep breaths while Iggy, Fang, and I wiped some sweat off our faces. Total just ran around in circles until Angel picked him up.

Iggy was listening intently, and he turned to me. "Max, we're gonna need some umbrellas. It's pouring outside."

I sighed and turned to look at the check-in counter. Abbey was sitting there, filing her nails. We could probably get some umbrellas from the front desk, but that would mean that someone had to go over there.

I wasn't sending Nudge over there, because that might cause another breakdown. Iggy and Fang _were not_ going over there, because that would end in massive bloodshed tears. On Abbey's part, that is. I could go, I guess.

"We'll go with you, Max." Angel said, dragging Gazzy forwards.

I smiled gratefully at them and we headed over to the desk. I walked up and tapped the little bell, waiting impatiently for Abbey to look up. When she finally did, her preppy smile froze on her lips.

"He- Oh. It's _you_ again."

I smiled. "Yeah, it's me."

She looked around, and saw Angel and Gazzy standing next to me. "Oh, who is this?" She cooed, reaching over to pat Angel on the head.

Angel just stared at her. Abbey looked back, starting to get a little freaked.

Then she looked away. "Uhhh… how can I help you?"

I smiled. "We'd like six umbrellas, please."

Abbey sighed. "That'll be sixty dollars."

I laughed. "No, really, how much?"

She looked at her nails. "Sixty dollars."

I looked pointedly at Angel. Angel nodded and stared at Abbey.

A few seconds later we had six umbrellas, free of charge.

We walked back to everyone else and handed out umbrellas. Once everyone had an umbrella and Total was comfortably situated in Angel's arms we stepped outside and looked around.

That's when we realized that we had a big dilemma.

We had no idea where any stores were.

There was a big group of people heading in the same direction, so we decided to follow them.

_Hey, Angel? Where are they all going?_

Angel concentrated for a second and answered me. _They're all leaving the hot springs and heading over to the plaza._

I nodded my thanks and turned to Fang. "We're heading towards some sort of plaza type place. D'you think they'll have stores there?"

Fang shrugged. "Maybe."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the great answer."

Fang grinned. "You're very welcome."

I looked back at everyone. Angel was laughing at Total, who had a raindrop on his nose and couldn't get it off. Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge were all talking and laughing.

I smiled. It was nice to see them happy and at ease. They deserved a vacation.

Suddenly I walked into someone. I fell backwards, right into a puddle, and stared up at the person I'd run into. I couldn't seem to look away, and he stared right back at me. Where had I seen him before?

Then Fang gently grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. I snapped out of my wonderings.

"Sorry." I muttered, staring at my feet. Where had I seen him?

"No problem, miss." He said in a gruff voice. He pulled his hat over his eyes so I couldn't see them.

Fang pulled me towards the rest of the flock.

"What was that?" He whispered as we started walking again.

"I'm not sure." I whispered back. "I think I've seen him before, but I can't remember where."

"Do you think he could be an Eraser?"

I shook my head. "No. It's probably nothing."

Fang shrugged. "I guess."

We walked into a plaza and saw a ton of shops. Almost every kind of store you can think of was there, with flashing lights and big displays.

Nudge's eyes were shining, and she explained what everything looked like to Iggy so fast her mouth was practically a blur. Angel was just staring at all the stores and pointing out to Gazzy what stores she wanted to go in. Fang was just looking around with his hooded eyes, impassive as always.

I decided that haircuts would be the best thing, right now. We really needed to change our look a bit, so Erasers couldn't find us as easily.

And Fang's, Iggy's, and Gazzy's hair was almost to their shoulders. Angel, Nudge, and I weren't too bad, but it was getting a little hard to brush my hair. It had been a long time since we got haircuts in New York.

Besides, it would be fun!

**A/N- I hope you liked it. It's kinda a filler, but there will be action in the next chapter. Please review! I'm asking for at least five reviews.**

**Oh, Yeah. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!!!**

**To all you anonymous people who are reading my story but aren't reviewing, please review!!! You can, Anonymous reviews are allowed, so please review!!! I want to hear what you think of my story!!!!**


	15. Fire Hair

**A/N- Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Here's the chapter!**

**Disclaimer- JP is a Boy. FB (Funniebanana) is a Girl!**

"I can't believe you thought this would be fun." Fang stuffed his hands deep in his filthy jeans' pockets. His hair was shorter, with some tan streaks. It looked like a hawk's plumage _again_. He drove the stylist crazy, bugging her about how he wanted it to look like a hawk. I guess he has a thing for birds.

_Hmmm, I wonder why!_

"It _is_ fun." I said, pointing my toes. "What do you think of these shoes?" They were blue and orange Pumas, and I really liked them.

My hair was shoulder length and parted on the side, with layers. One side had jaw-length bangs that kind of covered my eye.

After we got our hair done we'd gone straight to a shoe store, to get some new shoes before we got new clothes.

Fang shrugged. "I guess they're okay."

I rolled my eyes. "I like them." I put them in their box and put it on the floor next to me. Then I looked around and saw Iggy's strawberry-blond head following a shorter, brown head.

Iggy had gotten his hair cut shorter too, so he and Fang had hair that was almost exactly the same length. But Iggy had gotten his hair streaked with fire red and black, so his head looked like it was on fire.

Nudge's curly hair was perfectly straight, and about shoulder length. It was cut in layers that framed her face in the front, and got longer at the back. Her stylist had told her that she should get some shampoo that kept volume under control or something, so, of course, she bugged me 'til I bought it for her.

They came up to me, each carrying a huge tower of shoe boxes. They put them down on the floor next to the stool I was sitting on. Nudge sat next to me, while Iggy went to stand by Fang.

I laughed. "Whoa, how many shoes are you guys getting?"

Iggy rubbed the back of his head. "Those aren't mine. They're all Nudge's. She made me help her carry them. My shoes are on the top of the pile."

I turned to Nudge. "Nudge, you know we can't get all these, right?"

Nudge sighed. "I know. But they were all so cute! Like, I got these heels, and they were A-DOR-ABLE! So I got them in six different colors."

"Nudge, first of all, _no heels_. Second of all, only two pairs of shoes _at most_. We can't carry more than that."

Nudge sighed. "Okay." She sat down and halfheartedly started going through her boxes. She handed me Iggy's, and I opened them to see a pair of Etnies. **(A/N- You know, those skateboard shoes?) **They were white with a big black "E" on them.

I looked at Nudge. "Did you pick these out for him?" I put them on top of my shoe box.

Nudge nodded. "Yeah, aren't they cool? They even fit him."

I laughed. "Yeah, that's kinda important, having shoes that fit."

I grabbed Fang's shoes. He had gotten Etnies too, but his were all black with a white "E". I guess they don't have many different colors for guys.

Nudge handed me a box. Inside were pink and white Pumas.

I smiled. "Good choice."

I handed the four boxes to Fang. "Go get in line. I'm gonna go get Angel and Gazzy."

He nodded and walked off, with Iggy following close behind. Nudge and I went to find Gazzy and Angel in the kid's department.

When we got there Total was lying on a bench, pretending to be a toy. None of the stores here allowed dogs, not even guide dogs. So Total had to pretend to be a stuffed animal.

I walked over and picked him up. I patted his head. "Where're Gazzy and Angel?"

Total shrugged. "They went into that aisle." He nodded his head in the direction of the aisle.

I handed him to Nudge and went over to the aisle. Gazzy and Angel were looking at a pair of shoes that cost $127.

"There's nothing special about them." Gazzy said, poking one.

He kind of had a buzz cut now, but it was a little longer. It was spiky, with brown tips.

Angel nodded. "I know! They're actually kinda ugly." Then she straightened up and turned around. "Hey Max, hey Nudge."

Her hair was just…hair. It went a little past her shoulders, and was a little curly. She was adorable.

Gazzy stood up too. "Are we leaving now?" He ran towards me and grabbed my hand. "Look at my shoes!" He had some black and red Heelys.

Angel was talking to Nudge, and showing off her new Nikes. I smiled. "Those are some good shoes, guys. Come on, we need to go meet Fang and Iggy at the check-out counter."

After buying our shoes, changing shoes, throwing away the old shoes, getting outside, finding all our umbrellas, and getting Total's fur out of Angel's umbrella we decided where to go next.

Well, we tried to.

"I wanna go to the candy store!" Angel stomped her foot.

"No way, Angel." Gazzy said. "I wanna go get some spray paint."

"Why?" Nudge asked, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Are you gonna go vandalize some buildings or something? Why don't we go get something to eat? I'm hungry."

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Is there a music store here? If there is, I wanna get a new CD."

I sighed. "Okay, guys, SHUT UP!! We'll get some candy after lunch, Angel. Nudge, we're all hungry, but we can't go into a restaurant dressed like this. Iggy, we'll get some CDs after lunch. Gazzy, why the heck do you want spray paint?" I rubbed a hand over my eyes. "We'll go get some new clothes first, then we'll go get lunch, get some candy, and some CDs." I looked at Gazzy. "_No spray paint_!!!"

Fang spoke up. "We need to go to a pet store, too."

I started nodding, then stopped. "Su- No, what? We are _not_ getting another pet."

Fang rolled his eyes. "I know that. Total needs a collar, and a leash."

Total barked. "I'll get a collar, but no leash. I'll feel like a dog."

Gazzy hit his forehead with his hand. "Maybe cause _you are one_!"

"I resent that. You don't see me chasing cats."

"Guys, drop it. We're going to get some new clothes."

Everyone nodded, and we headed in search of a clothing store.

_

* * *

_

"No."

"Please, Max?"

"No."

We were at some clothes store. I'd made sure that everyone grabbed two pairs of jeans, two shirts, and a jacket, so now they were all looking for anything extra they wanted.

But now Nudge wanted to get a jean mini-skirt. I'd let her get a big fuzzy vest-thing, but no way was she getting a mini-skirt.

"Please?"

"Nudge, no. Final answer."

Nudge sighed. "Fine." She skipped off to help Iggy find a pair of sunglasses.

Then someone came up behind me and wrapped their arms around my waist. I yelped and started pushing at their arms, but stopped when I heard Fang quietly chuckling.

He rested his chin on my shoulder, and his warm breath tickled my neck. "Ready to go?"

I nodded. "I've been ready since we got here."

Fang let go of me and stepped away. "I'll go get Iggy and Nudge."

I headed off to find Gazzy and Angel, and soon we were on our way to lunch.

As we walked through the wet streets I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. We were walking right next to some alleys, and every so often I would see a flash of a coat, or hear someone's feet pounding the ground as they ran. But Angel didn't seem worried, Iggy didn't seem to hear anything, and Fang didn't seem to see anything out of the ordinary, so I thought I was just over-paranoid.

I decided not to look on either side, and listen only to the conversations that the flock was taking part in. I stopped seeing the mysterious follower, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

After lunch we were heading back to the hotel. Iggy was listening to his new CD, on his new CD player. Angel was chewing on some Jelly Bellies, and Total was flaunting his new collar proudly.

Then Nudge came up to me and whispered in my ear. "Uhh, Max? I kinda need a new bra."

I blinked then smiled. "Oh, right, I do too. We'll go get them now." I called ahead to Fang. "Fang!"

Fang turned to look at me. "Nudge and I forgot something. We'll meet you at the hotel, 'kay?"

Fang nodded. "Do you think Iggy or I should come with you? We were just attacked by Erasers today. They might be close by."

I shook my head. "No, we'll be fine. We can take care of ourselves. See you guys later!"

The rest of the flock turned and headed towards the hotel, while Nudge and I headed back to the plaza.

After we bought what we needed we headed back to the hotel. But we were really tired of walking and carrying around heavy bags, so we took a short cut through an alley. The alley was poorly lit, a perfect spot for an Eraser attack, but I wasn't worried.

Then, all of a sudden, the hair on the back of my neck prickled. I turned to look at Nudge. "Nudge. U and A. _Now_!"

Nudge was just about to unfold her wings when someone blocked the entrance to the alleyway. No, wait, a lot of some ones. I snapped out an arm and grabbed Nudge's shoulder, silently telling her not to take off.

She pulled her wings in tight and we turned to run out the way we came. But more people were blocking that exit, too.

I put my bags down and got in a fighting stance. Nudge did the same, and we were just about to spring at some of the mystery people when someone stepped forward.

He had on a coat and a hat. I recognized the coat.

"Hey, you're that guy that's been following us around all day!" Then I saw the hat on his head. "And the guy I ran into earlier! Who are you?"

He laughed. "What, you don't remember me?"

In my book, when someone says that it usually means that that someone is evil, or did something to you at sometime in your life.

I pretended to nod, then shook my head. "Yea…no. I've met a lot of people, so if I don't remember you you're probably not that important." I imperceptibly inched in front of Nudge, so I could protect her in case this unknown person happened to be an Eraser.

_Angel! _I called in my head, _We need help! Help us!_

No answer. _She must be out of range_, I thought.

The stranger took of his jacket and his hat. "Well, maybe you'll remember this." He started talking in a high-pitched, girly voice. "'He looks like he got hit by a car!'"

He must have seen the bewildered expression on my face, cause he kept talking, but in his normal voice. "'I told you not to tell anyone about my little situation with Ortiz!'"

I was still confused, but then I remembered. I gasped. "_No_. Aren't you…"

**A/N- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Please don't kill me. The next chapter might be really short, but it'll be up soon. If you can guess who it is, and give me his name or at least where Max met him, I'll give you a…cyber-cookie!!! YAAAAAAY! Review, please. I want to make it to 200!!!**


	16. Grrrr

**A/N- Thanks SOOOOOOOOOSOSOSOSOSOOOO much for reviewing. I actually have 200 reviews!!!!!**

**Okay, to all the readers who guessed who the mysterious stranger was, (and got it right), a CYBER-COOKIE!!! Thanks, Weasleygrlz07, staplemyfingy, SpringDaze, nellabella41, restart, Bubble Blower, maximum-angel, Myrah, Pheonix, jsorgea, GuardianOfthebrokenhearted, bluoreo, and scarily obsessed! You all get a HUGE cyber-cookie!!!**

**Disclaimer- If I owned Maximum Ride, do you really think I'd be posting this for **_**free**_** on a website, instead of making **_**millions**_

_-Previously on Hot and Cold-_

He must have seen the bewildered expression on my face, cause he kept talking, but in his normal voice. "'I told you not to tell anyone about my little situation with Ortiz!'"

I was still confused, but then I remembered. I gasped. "_No_. Aren't you José? One of those guys who were giving Ella a hard time?" I added, for Nudge's benefit.

José nodded. "Glad you remember me."

I rolled my eyes. "What have you been doing, _stalking me_? How did you find me?"

The menacing smile disappeared off his face. "I was just here visiting my girlfriend, Abbey, when I saw you. I couldn't believe my luck. You know, you broke three of my ribs and Dwayne's nose. This time, you're gonna pay."

I forced a laugh. "Oh, yeah, sure, cause that worked out _so_ well last time."

"You won't get away this time. We have friends here." He gestured at the big, burly guys blocking the exits. "And you're going down."

Nudge was looking at me funny. "You _know_ these losers?"

"Unfortunately." I noticed that it had stopped raining. Weird…

José seemed to realize that there was someone else with me. He stepped closer, peering at Nudge through the gloom. "Who is _this_?" He reached out and stroked Nudge's cheek with one nasty finger.

I opened my mouth to say "I wouldn't do that if I were you" but Nudge moved too fast.

In a lightning-fast flurry of movements and a sickening crack, José was on the ground clutching his wrist.

Nudge spoke through gritted teeth. "Don't. Touch. Me."

José glared up at us. "You shouldn't have done that."

"You deserved it." I countered, giving Nudge a high-five.

José yelled something in Spanish. Like robots, the guys blocking our exits jumped at us. Nudge and I immediately jumped into action.

I snapped my elbow backwards, catching someone in the throat. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath. I nonchalantly stepped over him and punched someone else's face so hard they blacked out.

Nudge was just behind me, throwing out punches to anyone that got close to her.

I moved closer to her until we were back-to-back.

"What do you think?" I called over the turmoil, kicking one guy in the chest. "Should we get rid of them then run, or just run now and save some energy."

Nudge thought for a second as she punched someone in the stomach. "I think we should just go now. We're already kinda kicking their butts."

She was right. There were about eight guys, not including José, originally, and now only two were standing. They were standing on either side of José, talking in hushed tones. Even with my genetically-enhanced hearing I couldn't hear them.

This couldn't end well.

Nudge and I started walking backwards, keeping an eye on José. We were just about to turn around and run when José pulled something out of his pocket with his good hand.

"Don't move." He had a gun, and was pointing it straight at us. "Or I'll shoot."

Nudge and I froze, staring at the gun. _Not again!_

One near-death experience is enough for one day, thanks.

"Okay, let's calm down, and think about what we're doing." I said soothingly, stealthily stepping in front of Nudge. _Angel!_

"Do you really want to kill us? Think about the mess that would make. You'd get blood all over yourself, and you'd have to clean up the blood in the alley, and get your clothes washed. I really don't think it's worth it."_ Angel! Help!_

Nudge peeked over my shoulder. "Don't forget the trouble with the police. Everyone would hear a gunshot, and our screams. We can scream really loud."

José laughed. "We can deal with the police. They'll never know who killed you."

He clicked off the safety and put his finger on the trigger. "Any last words?"

"Just a few!" Two dark shadows barreled into José.

_

* * *

_

They got back to the hotel and ran up the stairs. Angel, Gazzy, and Total ran into their room to take showers and change into their new clothes.

Fang and Iggy walked into their room and sat down on their beds. Fang grabbed the remote just before Iggy did.

Iggy sat up. "Hey, come on. I want to watch the football game."

"Too bad. You can't see."

"You know what I mean."

"No I don't know…"

Iggy punched Fang's shoulder and grabbed the remote. "What channel is football on?"

Fang shrugged. "No idea."

Iggy channel flipped until he found ESPN. The two boys watched (and listened) for a while, then Fang happened to glance at the clock.

"Whoa, dude, it's been thirty minutes since Max and Nudge left. D'you think they're alright?"

"I don't know. Probably." Inside though, Iggy was a little worried. They had been attacked by Flyboys today. What if they were following Nudge? And Max. But they could take care of themselves, right?

_Not against thirty Flyboys,_ Said a little voice in the back of his head.

Fang was worried too. What if they had been attacked by Flyboys? Or just normal gangsters?

Fang stole the remote from Iggy and changed the channel. The news was on, and just as he was changing the channel again the reporter said something about a large fight in an alley, just off of the plaza.

Fang and Iggy sat straight up, listening carefully.

"…Witnesses saw two teenaged girls last entering the alley, an African American and a blond. Then witnesses heard the sounds of a fight, and the police were contacted. If anyone has any idea of who the two girls may be, please contact…"

Fang turned the TV off.

"Max."

"Nudge."

Iggy got up and ran to Angel and Gazzy's room. He knocked frantically on the door.

The Gasman answered. "Oh, hey Ig. What's up?"

Iggy was talking really fast. "Fang and I…need to go. You're in charge 'til we get back. Got it? Good." He didn't wait for an answer. "Don't go anywhere." He ran back down the hall to his room. Fang was already ready, waiting with the window open.

The two boys leapt out the window, opening their wings. They flew high above the city, until Fang spotted Max and Nudge with his raptor vision.

Fang swooped down, with Iggy following close behind.

They landed silently on a rooftop, analyzing the scene below them.

When the person who looked like the leader pulled out a gun, Fang and Iggy took action. They tucked their wings in, and hurtled down into him, saying the same thing at the same time.

"Just a few!"

_-Max's point of view-_

Fang and Iggy crashed into José, knocking the gun out of his hands. José fell to the ground, with Fang and Iggy beating the crap out of him.

"Leave her _alone_!" Fang yelled, punching his nose.

"Don't _touch_ my girlfriend!" Iggy cried, snapping a kick to his chest.

The last two guys standing were about to run, but Nudge and I got them. Two kicks and a punch later, Nudge and I were leaning against a wall, making sure nobody had stolen any of our new clothes.

"At least we haven't changed into our new clothes yet." Nudge said conversationally, pointing at the new rips on my jeans.

I nodded. "Yeah. We'd have to buy _more_ new clothes."

Fang and Iggy were finished with José, and they came over to us.

Iggy gave Nudge a huge hug, and she kissed his cheek. They both blushed, and Nudge looked over to see if Fang or I noticed. When she saw that we were in our own little bubble, she turned back to Iggy.

I wrapped my arms around Fang's neck, and after a moment of hesitation he wrapped his arms around my waist. He buried his face in my hair, and hugged me closer.

He took his face out of my hair and looked at me. "God, Max. You can't go _anywhere_ without running into someone that wants to kill you."

I smiled. "Well, you know me, I'm just a danger magnet."

He grinned, and I picked up my bags. "Let's go to the hotel. I wanna shower."

Iggy let go of Nudge and she picked up her bags. She grabbed Iggy's hand with her free one, and they caught up to us.

"I know, I wanna shower too! I hate fighting people. I always feel so… like, dirty, afterwards! Can I take the first shower, Max? Cause, you know, we're sharing a room, and we only have one bathroom. Can we go swimming after our showers? That would be kinda pointless though, cause we would just have to take another shower. But it would be worth it. What are we having for dinner? I really…"

I tuned her out, and started wondering myself. _What _are_ we having for dinner?_

**A/N- I hope you liked it! I know it took me a while, but I finally got to a good stopping point. Anyways, please review, and tell me what you think! I might not be able to update for a while, cause we're going to the beach, (I LOVE THE SUN!!!!!!) but we're not leaving for a couple days. I think…**


	17. Funny Dreams

**A/N- I'm BACK!!!!!!!!!! I _finally_ got word on my computer, and I've been typing ever since. I'll still only be able to update about once a week cause I have school, but I'll try really hard to update more. Promise!!! **

**BTW- This chapter is a little creepy, but just a tiny bit. I did warn you. **

**Disclaimer- Crap, we have to go through this again?! I DON'T OWN MAX!!!!!!! Or the flock. Or anyone else that JP owns. Got it? **

**I do own the anti… never mind. Read to find out. **

"Goodnight, Max!" Angel wrapped her skinny arms around my neck. I hugged her back and kissed her forehead.

"Night, Ange." We stacked fists and I turned to Gazzy's bed. "Gaz, don't stay up too late. I know Mythbusters **(A/N- That's like, my brother's favorite show) **is funny, but I don't want you up past eleven."

Gazzy nodded absently, his eyes fixed on the TV screen. "Right, got it. Night."

I walked out of the room, but just as I was about to leave Total barked at me. "What, I don't get a goodnight? I think I deserve one."

I laughed. "Sleep well, Total." I turned off the lights and, closing the door tightly behind me, walked next door to Iggy and Fang's room. I knocked, and Iggy answered.

"Who is it?" He asked, his sightless eyes roving the hallway.

"It's me, Iggy. Just saying goodnight."

He stood back and let me in, the door slamming shut behind me. Fang was lying on a bed, watching TV. I jumped on the bed and poked his shoulder. "What're you doing?"

Fang looked at me, and his eyes widened _very_ slightly when he saw my pajamas. I was wearing a pair of baggy white pants, with blue clouds on them and a blue tube-top. He raised his eyebrows at me quizzically. I just smiled.

Sighing happily, I laid down next to him, resting my head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer.

Iggy sat down on the other bed and sighed. "What's Nudge doing?"

I laughed. "She's still in the shower." Nudge had been in the shower for an hour and a half, and still showed no signs of getting out. "Why do you ask?"

Iggy blushed. "No reason."

Fang and I shared a knowing glance, and turned back to the TV.

I yawned after a few minutes. "I guess I'm goin' to sleep. Night Fang, Iggy. See ya in the morning."

Fang kissed my forehead and Iggy nodded. The three of us stacked fists. I left their room and went across the hall to me and Nudge's room. Opening the door with my room key, I heard Nudge singing.

"Nudge? You done in the shower yet?"

"Hey there Delilah, I've got so much left to say…"

"Nudge?"

"If every simple song I wrote to you would take your breath away…"

"Nudge! Get out of the shower!"

"I'd write it all, even more in love with me you'd fall, we'd have it all…"

"Okay, stay in the shower and keep singing while Abbey introduces herself to Iggy!"

The shower turned off abruptly and I heard the shower curtain fly open. Nudge stuck her head out the door. "Hey Max, I'm done in the shower. Have you seen Iggy?"

I laughed. "Yeah, he's next door listening to the TV."

Nudge smiled and came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She walked over to one of her shopping bags and pulled out some pajamas, getting dressed while I watched TV.

"So, Max, what're we doing tomorrow? Are we going to leave? I hope not, cause I really like it here. We could shop some more tomorrow, or go see a movie or something! Wouldn't that be soooooo much fun?!"

I nodded tiredly. "Yeah, Nudge, that'd be a ton of fun. But we can't stay forever, 'kay?"

Nudge rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever."

She laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a second. "Well, goodnight."

We stacked fists and I turned off the lights with a clap of my hands. "'Night, Nudge."

Within a few minutes I fell fast asleep.

_All of a sudden I was on a huge icy field, and there was a huge bonfire on the other side. I whimpered suddenly, and sprinted, against my better judgment, towards the fire._

How did someone light a fire on snow?

_As I got closer I slowed down, a feeling of dread filling me. There was something in the fire, and I had a feeling that I didn't want to see what it was. But I had to find out what it was. _

_As I finally got right in front of it, I peered into the fire. There were seven large logs lying in the center if the fire. But then I smelled it. It smelled like burning flesh…but there was no one in the fire…right? As I looked even closer, I felt vomit rise in my throat. _Oh God…

_The logs weren't logs…they were bodies. Six humans and a dog. I screamed until I cupped a hand over my mouth. I squinted through the smoke, looking at the bodies closer. I screamed again. Tears dripped down my face as I looked at the scene before me. _

_It was the flock. But something was wrong. _

_There was Angel, but she had a buzz cut…and her eyelashes were a lot shorter. Total's fur was white instead of black. Gazzy had beautiful, untangled, clean hair that went to his waist, and he was wearing a skirt. Nudge didn't have any hair, and she was wearing all black, something Nudge wouldn't be caught dead in. There was a tattoo on her arm that said "I love girls" _WHAT!? _and she was really…flat. You know what I mean? _

_Fang and_ _Iggy had long hair too, but it was knotted and in ponytails that passed their shoulders. Fang had a ton of pink stuff on his lips…LIPSTICK!? And there was one other problem…THEY WERE GIRLS!!!! You should probably know how I knew. Then there was one other person. It was me, but I was a guy. _

_I looked around, looking for anyone else. Suddenly _my_ flock was around me, staring at the flames. I breathed a sigh of relief. Then they all turned to look at me at the same time. _

_They all opened their mouths, but instead of their voices I heard The Voice…I mean, Jeb. _

You can save them, Maximum. Save them.

_My possessed flock made a circle around me, and I spun in a circle as Jeb talked through them. _

Find them, Maximum. Save them. Save yourself. Save the flock. They need you. 

_My breath was coming in short pants. _Voice? Jeb? Dad?! What do you mean? Who do I save? How?

_As one, the flock's fingers raised to point at the figures in the fire. _

Go to New York and look for someone familiar. 

Who? I know a lot of people!

New York, Maximum.

Wait!

_But everything was fading, and Jeb's voice was gone. Suddenly my flock had replaced the flock in the fire, and they were burning while the strangers had just laid there. I screamed, and the fire snuffed out, and everything went black. _

_And I was falling. _

* * *

"Max, what is it?"

But Max was still asleep, tossing and turning and muttering things to herself.

Nudge got up and walked over to Max's bed, shaking her shoulder. "Max, wake up, it's just a dream! Max!"

Max just screamed again, and started muttering to herself somemore.

Nudge grabbed a key and ran out of the room, across the hall to Iggy and Fang's room. She pounded on the door frantically. "Iggy! Fang! Open up! It's me, Nudge! Something's wrong!"

* * *

Fang and Iggy snapped awake when they heard Nudge pounding on the door. Iggy jumped out of his bed, while Fang checked the clock. He groaned when he saw that it was only 2:00 AM.

Iggy opened the door. "What is it, Nudge?" He yawned. "This'd better be important."

Nudge was frantic. "It's Max!"

Fang ran up behind Iggy. "What?!"

"Something's wrong with Max!"

Iggy and Fang followed Nudge across the hall and waited impatiently while Nudge opened the door. When the door finally opened Max was muttering wildly to herself, tossing around. Fang ran over to her and pulled her onto his lap, stroking her hair away from her face. He looked up at Nudge anxiously.

"What happened?!"

Nudge ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know! I was asleep, then all of a sudden she was screaming and I woke up!"

Iggy put his arms around her, and pulled her into his chest. "Nudge, it's okay. You aren't breathing. Breathe."

Fang shook Max gently. "Max, wake up! It's just a dream! Max!"

Suddenly Max screamed and snapped awake, looking around wildly.

"Where's the snow?"

**A/N- So, what did you think? I liked, personally. So review, and tell me what you think! Thanks! **


	18. Finally! A plan!

**A/N- Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really like it that you guys still are actually reading this. I hope you like this chapter, but I think it's gonna be a little weird. It's also got a healthy dose of fluff. ENJOY!!!**

**Also, if you guys like Teen Titans, see my friend's Youtube videos. Spiritfannumber1. You'll really like it. At least, I did. **

**Disclaimer- No way do I own Maximum Ride.**

"Where's the snow?" I snapped awake, glancing around wildly.

My head was on Fang's lap, and his worried face hovered above mine. I could see Nudge and Iggy in the background, Iggy listening intently with his arm around Nudge. Nudge was watching us, bewildered.

"Max?" Fang brushed some hair away from my face. "You okay?"

I blinked. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Oh, yeah, great, just dandy."

Nudge piped up. "What snow, Max? We're inside."

Fang rolled his eyes, and Iggy sighed. I laughed. "There's no snow, Nudge. It was just part of my dre-nothing." I didn't want to worry them with my dream. It was just a dream. "It was nothing. Just me babbling, you know, cause I talk a lot. Talk, talk, talk, that's all I do!"

Fang raised an eyebrow, silently telling me that he wasn't buying it. I silently begged him to drop it, and he seemed to get the message.

I jumped up and headed towards the bathroom, walking backwards. "I'm gonna brush my teeth. Bad dental hygiene causes erratic screaming during the night." Fang and Nudge glanced at each other. "Cause I wasn't dreaming. Nope, not me!" I smiled cheerily, then turned around and slid into the bathroom, closing the door and locking it behind me.

But not before hearing Iggy say, "'Bad dental hygiene'?"

I walked over to the sink, and splashed some cold water on my face. I picked up a towel and was wiping my face off when I looked up at the mirror. The towel fell to the ground, and my hand flew to my mouth.

But not soon enough to stifle the shriek that came out.

Eraser Max was in the mirror, staring at me. I took my hand off my mouth, wiggling my finger in front of my face. They were normal, human. But in my reflection they were furry.

I heard Fang pounding on the door. "Max? Max, what is it? Max, answer me!"

Then she spoke. "Now, Max. You know that wasn't a dream."

I stared. "Why is this happening?!" My voice rose to a scream at the end.

She smiled, her fangs showing. "New York, Max. New York."

Fang was pounding even harder. "Max, come on! I _will_ knock this door down!"

I spun away from the mirror, running over to the door and flinging it open. I sped out, colliding with Fang and knocking us both down.

When we settled to the ground with a crash I was shaking, clutching Fang's shirt. His arms closed around me protectively.

"Max?" His husky voice sounded right by my ear. "What happened?"

I buried my face into his chest, shaking my head.

He grabbed my shoulders and pulled my face roughly away from his chest. "Max, what happened? Just tell me!"

I blinked at him stupidly for a moment, and shook my head wearily. "Eraser Max."

I could tell, by the way Fang let go of my shoulders abruptly, that the whole situation had changed.

"Iggy, you and Nudge go back to our room. Nudge, you might have to sleep there, so don't stay up. If anything happens, get Gazzy and Angel, and then we'll rendezvous back in the forest."

Iggy nodded and led a half-asleep Nudge out of the room. After the door had slammed shut solidly behind them Fang looked at me.

"Max, what happened in your dream?" I opened my mouth to say 'I didn't have a dream, darn it, why won't you believe me?', but Fang cut me off. "And I know you had a dream."

I sighed resignedly, and launched into my story. "Well, in the beginning I was in this city…"

Thirty minutes later I was finished. I had described, in great detail, what the flock in the fire looked like, and what the voice said. Now Fang and I were sitting on my bed facing each other, with a world of unanswered questions between us.

"So, we need to go to New York?"

I rolled my eyes. "Looks like it, considering Jeb and Eraser Max made reappearances _just_ to tell me to go to New York."

Fang sighed. "I know, but can we trust them? We have an Eraser that looks like you that lives in a mirror, and no one else can see her, and a psychotic traitor, that just happens to be your father, talking to you as a voice in your head. That doesn't sound very trustworthy."

I fell backwards, falling on a pillow. "I know, but we have no other idea about what to do! We can easily handle one Eraser and Jeb. Besides, you have no idea how creepy it was, seeing people that looked exactly like us burning in a fire. We have to help them, somehow!"

Fang lay down next to me. "I know you feel like we have to save them, and I sorta agree, but we should be really careful and plan things out before we take action. We can't afford to be compulsive."

I snorted. "Since when have I ever been compulsive?"

Fang raised an eyebrow and looked at me skeptically.

"Don't answer that."

Fang smirked and leaned in, kissing me very lightly on the lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his mouth back down to mine, forgetting Eraser Max and Jeb.

When we broke apart, I was suddenly exhausted. A huge yawn burst out of my mouth, and Fang saw it. He pulled the blankets over me and lay down next to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Good night, Max." He whispered in me ear, making me shiver.

I nodded sleepily. "'Night, Fang."

"Get some sleep, 'cause I guess we're going to New York in the morning."

I smiled. "Thanks Fang."

"Don't mention it."

Just before I fell asleep, one thought went through my head.

Hello, New York City! Again.

**A/N- So, what did you think? I know it took me forever to update, but I finally did! So please review, and tell me what you think. I think I've lost most of my reviewers, so please come back!!!**


	19. Fun Fights

**A/N- Oh my god, I am so sorry. I don't know what happened, but I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever. Tell me if there is **_**anything**_** I should fix, and I'll do it. Promise. To my old readers, sooooooo sorry. To the new ones, hope you like my story!**

**Disclaimer- JP, if your selling Max, I'll buy her.**

"Okay, guys, we're leaving."

I held up a hand to stop the complaints that flew at me.

We were at breakfast in the hotel's 5-star restaurant, and I had just told them phase A of our new plan.

They ignored me though, and everyone was strongly opposed to leaving. Well, everyone except for Fang. We'd already gone over the plan.

"Ohhh, Max! I like it here!"

"Why?"

"I still haven't gotten my spray paint!"

"Where're we going?"

"Gazzy, you don't need spray paint!" I rubbed my forehead. "We've got a new plan, and that plan involves leaving. Got it? Any questions?"

Nudge munched on a piece of toast half-heartedly. "Where are we going?"

I smiled. "I'm glad you asked. We're going to New York!"

Iggy grimaced; Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and Total cheered.

"Yes! I can finally find out what New York actually looks like!" Total cried, smacking a high five with Angel.

"Max, I can't hear anything there!" Iggy moaned, clutching his forehead. "It's too loud, and noisy, and I hate it!"

Nudge grabbed Iggy's arm. "Iggy! Come on! Please? I love New York! Don't say that you hate it!"

Iggy sighed resignedly. "Okay, fine. But on one condition."

Everyone looked at him. "What is it?" I asked warily, ready to say no and make him come with us anyway.

Iggy smirked. "We go back to the Garden Tavern."

I groaned, Fang smirked, and Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel laughed.

Total looked at all of us. "What's the Garden Tavern?"

* * *

"Okay, you guys got everything?" I looked over my flock, making sure they all had their backpacks, and that Total was secure in his carrier.

Everyone nodded, and we walked out of the hotel. I had already checked out that morning, so we were completely ready to go.

We walked until we were out of the city limits, then took off.

It felt great to stretch my wings out. I could feel my muscles groaning from being unused, but I ignored it.

Instead I looked over everyone, smiling at their exuberance at being in the air again.

Angel caught my glance and flew over to me, flying next to me so our wings brushed every time one of us flapped.

"Max? Can we stop in Chicago on our way to New York?" She asked, batting her eyelashes. "We're flying right over it anyway."

I sighed. "Angel, we need to stop detouring. Every time we do, something bad happens. Let's just go straight to New York, and stay far away from any big cities, especially Chicago. I-"

Nudge perked her head up at Chicago. "CHICAGO?!" She screeched, so high that I'm surprised Chicago's population couldn't hear her. "I LOVE CHICAGO!! WHEN ARE WE GOING!!"

I winced. "Nudge, lower the decibels, please. And we're not going to Chicago. Ever."

"Besides," Gazzy piped up, "You've never even been to Chicago. How can you love something you've never even seen?"

"I can't see ice cream, but I love it, Gaz." Iggy said. "I love tons of things, but I can't see any of 'em."

Gazzy frowned. "You're just siding with Nudge because she's your _girlfriend_!"

Iggy blushed, and Gazzy smirked happily.

Nudge frowned and shook her head imperiously. "It doesn't matter, Gazzy. I've seen Chicago on tons of TV shows and movies. I've read about it. I know so much about Chicago, I could be the Queen of the place!"

Total laughed. "Yeah right, Nudge. The day you become the Queen of Chicago, I'll kiss Fang."

Everyone was silent for a minute.

"Nudge, if you _ever_ become Queen of Chicago, I'm gonna kill you." Fang said, deadly serious.

We all laughed. Gazzy laughed so hard he forgot flap his wings for a second and fell a couple feet, which just made us laugh harder.

When we had finally stopped Angel turned to me. "So, Max, can we go to Chicago?"

I closed my eyes for a second, ignoring the cacophony of voices begging to go to Chicago. "Fine," I said, my eyes still closed. "I guess we're going to Chicago. But then, straight to New York."

Everyone cheered.

As we kept flying towards our new destination, Nudge blabbered on excitedly to Angel about what we should do in Chicago.

"Hey Max, while we're there we should definitely get some chili. Chicago has great chili."

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. "That's Cincinnati, Nudge. _Cincinnati_ chili, _not_ Chicago chili."

Nudge blinked. "Oh. Oops." She cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure?"

**A/N- Again, sooooo sorry. I'll update again as soon as I can. Until then, **_**please**_** review.**

**-Funniebanana**


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